Pretend World
by xScenex
Summary: AU, slash. Carey Potter made a wish for someone to guide her through the rough times in her life, and she got her wish in the form of an Angel. This angel just so happens to be a male version of herself from another world. HPDM slash.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize from the Harry Potter books and/or movies.

A/N: I'M ALIVE! Naaah! Another story! -slaps herself- I can't get rid of these plot bunnies, so I had to just throw this one out there! Anyways, here's what it's about:

First of all: **THIS WILL BE SLASH! Slash requested by a friend - sorry if you don't like it! I doubt anything too vulgar will happen, though. **Carey Lily Potter from another universe is the alternative version of Harry James Potter - but she's quite flawed compared to Harry. She lives with the Dursley's, still, but is not the savior of the wizarding world. Can you guess who is, when things are slightlyopposite? She's an outcast in normal muggle life and in the wizarding world. Friendless and in Hufflepuff's House, she wishes nothing more than to have someone to guider her through her seemingly hopeless life, and she gets her wish - by none other than a Guardian Angel. But this Guardian Angel isn't normal - no, he's from another world, where things were quite different than what the girl knows. It justso happens that the angel is a male form of her.Angel!Harry isn't sure he can handle seeing some ofhis friends on the bad side of it all, whereas his old enemies are quite nice at times. Old lovers, new powers, an alternate self… Angel!Harry may find that this new gift of 'life' is too much to handle. Maybe it wasn't Angel!Harry who was supposed to guide the alternate version girl through her life… Maybe it was Carey who was supposed to guide the Angel to what was known as 'living'. (Some things in this story will be the same as in the books, and some will be different. Although things are 'opposite', there are some things that are the same, and a FEW people who are still on the same side as in Angel!Harry's world.) Beware, Angel!Harry will have supernatural powers. He's an angel, afterall. He will not become SuperPowerAngel!Harry though. I'll keep it to a minimum. Also, the **other-worldy Harry will be OC**. It was also requested by a friend, who wanted a 'semi-cool guy' Harry fic. Don't like it? Don't read, please.

Yeah. Kill me, maul me, do whatever, but I had to get this out. For those who are previous readers of my other stories, I have an update on what's happening with them -

Preternatural: Slight, or major delays coming soon. A dispute is happening between us two authors, and things aren't going well. Hopefully, things change! I really liked writing the story, but if Rudulo and I can't fix things, then I will continue the story myself. Sorry guys! Just because we're having problems in life doesn't mean we should keep you lovely readers waiting! I feel bad about that!

Hands are Meant to Hold: I didn't mention before, but my computer has crashed three times in the past month, and all data I've had for my stories was deleted, including two chapters for this that I hadn't posted due to lack of internet. Urg. Anyways, this story will be updated soon, I promise! Just let me get over what's blocking my mind from writing the next chapter, and it will be up soon. It's already being written.

Iron Butterflies: Still coming along, that's all I have to say.

Seeing an Eternity: As with Hands are Meant to Hold, I lost the chapters that I had been editing. This story is one of my first priorities at the moment, and it will be updated soon. Currently, I'm re-reading the books so that I can get a feel of how to actually write this decently. The next chapter is already halfway written.

Time Warped: In progress, that's all I have to say on this one as well. ;D

Yeah. And this story: I have no idea. I just wanted to get it out of my head. I might update, I might not. Depends on how many readers there are, I guess. But I'm usually not like that - I usually update regardless of the readers, but still, I have more projects to do and this one was just a random one. It'll probably die from my mind soon.

**READERS OF MY OTHER STORIES, PLEASE READ BELOW!**

**I'm sorry for the delay of updating my other stories. I wont give some pitiful excuse, but I will say I'm having quite a few difficulties in performing my loyal duties as a writer. I will try to find more time to dedicate myself to the stories, but until then, you must wait. My lack of having a computer is putting me in despair, as I DO like to update and write. Maybe I'll buy a laptop… **

* * *

Pretend World

By: xScenex

Chapter One: The Winter's Offering

* * *

Blood was splattered everywhere; against walls, against the floor, dripping and sprayed upon the surfaces. The massacre of bodies, high and numerous, lay scattered around what was left of the Ministry. 

Large, broken stone cast dark shadows onto the deceased, giving their crimson stained faces a hollow look. Their eyes, dull and unmoving, stared listlessly at the smoke filled sky before them.

The sky, dark and velvety, was encased with a thick layer of smoke that billowed from the ruins of the wizarding building, and the stench of burned skin and blood rose up like a monstrous being. Nothing had survived that last episode of _the _last battle.

The savior against the immortal - none were safe. Chaos fueled fear, and soon, the sanity of what was real was lost in the sea of hate, and the Phoenix crashed into the Snake, sending them both into deep despair. And in their trepidation, both sides fell equally, side by side.

Or so it seemed.

As there is always good and evil, where one cannot be without the other, there is parallel and dissimilar. In one world, where the Phoenix fought against the Snake, all things came out equally.

But what if there was a world where the Snake fought against the Phoenix, in a opposite paradox? Would all things come to a complete balance in the end? Or would it all fail and one side would gain more than the other?

Join Harry James Potter as he finds himself thrown into a new world, where the light he once knew is nothing as it had once seemed, doused with shadows and flickering darkness.

* * *

Tick… tock… tick… 

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding…

The sound of a tolling clock echoed through a warm, homely house. A dull, pale light began to filter through the window shades along the walls.

Carey Potter sat up urgently, unsure of her surroundings. She felt panicked and adrenaline flowed through her veins, causing her to twitch and jerk in her already tangled sheets.

She had no idea why she felt the way she did. Maybe she'd had a nightmare? That sometimes happened to her. She'd wake up after a horrid dream and feel as if it had been real.

She looked over at the bright red numbers on his digital clock and sighed. It was only five-o-two in the morning. The girl rolled over, a nagging feeling settling over her. She tried to remember what her dream had been about, but she couldn't even recall a single bit of it.

Carey hated having a dream that she knew had some important information in it, but as soon as she woke up, it would all just slip away like water through bars.

But the girl decided to just let it go. No use in crying of spilt milk, right?

After nearly half an hour of tossing about in her bed, Carey decided to get up out of it and start the morning, albeit a bit tiredly.

This alternate version of Harry was more of an outcast than anything; she was quite and absurdly alone. She lived with the Dursley's, all of whom hated her with a deep, burning passion. The neighbors were boring and the local kids were obnoxious. And none wanted anything to do with 'Careless-Clumsy Carey'.

Said girl snorted lightly at the mere thought of the name. If only they knew how true they were!

A witch? An orphan? A fool? What other labels could she use to describe the ludicrously of her life? In normal life, she seemed like an ordinary, shy and quite girl. But in truth, she was far from it.

Carey was like a double agent, living by summer as a common girl, but during school sessions, she was off training in magic and other mumbo jumbo.

But she never had any fun. Everyone had labeled her in an offending way, and she had no friends. She had been so scared to go to Hogwarts, that she had been unsure of what House she wanted to be in. Did she want bravery? Power? Wisdom, or friendship? She was unsure what suited her. But in the end, she had been thrown into Hufflepuff, the house where friendship and loyalty ruled above all.

And because of that, she had been shunted as 'stupid'; and no one wanted to be friends with a Hufflepuff except for the others in that House.

She thought that being in Hufflepuff would give her a new voice, but even the others in that House didn't like her. She nearly laughed at how horrible it seemed. She was completely by herself.

The fourteen year old girl sighed heavily as her feet touched the cold of the floor beneath her bed. She shivered as the cold, winter air seeped in from the windows. She had chosen to go home that year for the winter, because she couldn't stand being at Hogwarts for the Yule Ball. Before the holiday had even come into full force, she had been teased mercilessly about not having a date. And they were right - no one wanted to go with her, and she really didn't blame them.

She was scrawny, short, and clumsy; not that she was exactly bad looking. She just looked much younger than her actual age. The only thing she could classify himself as was a nerd, really. The mere word made her grimace.

Carey stared through her window at the icy clouds above. They twisted and twirled above in unseen patters to her vision, as all the girl really saw was a blanket of grey above the many houses of Privet Drive.

Tonight, it was Christmas Eve, and her Aunt Marge was to come down with gifts for Dudley and the others. But Carey wouldn't get more than a mere glare from the woman.

Sometimes, the Hufflepuff girl thought it would have been best if her Uncle had actually squashed the magic right out of her before she came to age to go to school. Then she could be at least a tad bit normal in the muggle world.

But after four years, Carey had learned to deal with it. She'd ignore the insults coming from the Slytherin's and some of the Gryffindor's in her school, and would ignore any guidance provided from teachers. What good would it do?

Tired of thinking now, she decided to look for a clean change of clothes. She spotted a worn blue sweater at the corner of her bed and picked it up. It was a bit thin and considerably huge compared to her small frame, but pretty warm overall and she knew she'd have to do snow shoveling that day. The Dursley's had already told her so.

After shoving the sweater on, she slipped into a comfortably baggy pair of jeans. After finally fixing her clothes, she ran her fingers thought her messy shoulder length hair, hoping to tame it a bit, but she knew it was useless. It had always been useless.

Minutes later, Carey walked down to fix breakfast for the Dursley's, ready to start the day. Yet, she had no idea that she'd be in for a huge surprise, later that evening…

* * *

Silvers, blues, and greens flashed by in a quick haze as he fell. He flailed, reaching out for anything to grab hold of. He couldn't believe it! Even though he thought he'd die in the battle, he found himself blacking out and awaking - in the middle of the air of all places! 

Wind whipped around him, and droplets of water slashed against his face. He narrowed his eyes against the onslaught. He wanted desperately to be able to control the falling, to be able to stop himself from continuing downwards in what looked like a continual tunnel.

Suddenly, pain resided in his shoulders. He gasped out loud, eyes wide in horror. What was happening? Was someone there with him, shooting spells? He struggled to flip himself around in the air, the pain getting more and more noticeable. As he was finally able to turn, he saw long strands of raven black hair swirling around his face and he stared. It was his own hair; It hadn't been that long before!

He didn't have long to think on it as the pain in his shoulders seemed to become nearly unbearable as something literally burst from them. A scream ripped from his throat, his voice echoing around him loudly.

His ears rung with his scream, and his throat ached in torn resentment. He felt the pain lessen in his back as whatever it was had been was released from him, but he felt a small weight on his back. Tears leaking down his face from the pain stung at his chill skin as he looked up above him.

Large, feathery wings loomed above, the color of the darkest shadows in the night. He gaped and reached up, feeling the soft texture of them. Were they real? They were… his?

He stared. And then he suddenly realized it without knowing where the indication of what was going on came from- he was an angel. And he was dead.

The pain that filled his heart was more than enough to cause the strongest of men complete despair. His friends, his family. Everyone was lost to him. No more would he see his lover, nor his best friends.

Tears poured down from his face and he continued to fall into the abyss below. His tears fused with the other water droplets, and with no indication of where they were headed, fell downwards with the Angel following slowly from above, wrapped in anguish and despair. He didn't fly away, much as other angels would. Harry was falling; falling into a place unknown and above him, others watched with saddened eyes, for they knew.

An angel was falling.

* * *

"Make sure to get all of it off of the driveway!" Dursley boomed loudly while shoving the shovel into Carey's hands. "If you aren't done by supper, you wont be allowed to eat dinner!" 

And with that threat, the front door slammed loudly and she was standing in the cold by herself. Carey had an hour and a half to finish up the driveway before it was dark and dinner would be ready, and with her heart sinking, she realized she wouldn't finish in time. There was too much snow!

But she decided she'd best get started, or the Dursley's wouldn't allow her any food for the following day as well.

She shoveled on and on for nearly an hour. The sky was darkening, and the clouds seemed to become more heavier. More snow, she thought regrettably. More for her to do tomorrow.

Sighing and rubbing at her cold nose with a decidedly numb gloved hand, the shook her head. It was useless. Maybe it would have been best for her to stay at school - it was better than freezing her arse off all night.

She leaned against the shovel at stared out into the street. All the houses were lit up, casting light on the snow, and in some of the windows, you could see people happily enjoying their holiday. Carey had longed for that kind of family herself, but what was the use in wishing? Wishing never got anyone anywhere.

"Yeah," she said outloud to herself moodily. "Why wish? It never works! Wishing is for kids… but… if I could wish…" she paused. What could one wish do? It wouldn't work, she knew, but she could at least state her wants. She was human, after all. "I wish there was someone who would be here for me. Someone who could understand."

The air around her quieted and the wind picked up softly as if listening intently to her words as they strung onto the wind's current. Carey looked up just as a loud boom of thunder sounded close by. Thunder in December? But she noticed that it was in misery that it sounded, like a howling wolf looking for it's mate.

She didn't ponder too long about the strained sound, for it started to rain.

Drip… drip… drip…

Cold rain. It was rain of anguish, but Carey didn't know that.

"Bugger," she whispered dejectedly. She walked to the front door and tried to open it but found it locked. They had locked her out! Now she was stuck in the icy rain! "Uncle Vernon!" she shouted as the rain became steadily heavier and more biting. "Please, Aunt Petunia! It's raining! Let me in, please?"

No answer. What was the use? She banged on the door a few times, but no one answered. She didn't even hear anything from Aunt Marge, criticizing her for being too loud and weak to handle a little bit of cold.

After more silence, Carey decided to sit on the steps dejectedly, where the small overhang above the door would shield her from most of the precipitation.

She hugged her knees to her chest, her icy breath steaming in the cold. She nearly felt like crying. No one would question her if they saw - it was raining, and it would be disguised easily. But she would be strong - what was a little rain and cold?

But it wasn't that that tore at her heart. It was the fact that the Dursley's didn't care enough and were willing to leave her out in the cold. Did no one care?

She sniffled as her eyes prickled and burned as the tears threatened to spill from her green eyes which were hidden by the obscured lenses perched on her nose. Carey shook her head and blinked violently, trying to rid of the tears.

"No," she said determinedly. "I won't cry!"

She buried her face into her arms and muttered to herself that she wouldn't. All those years at school, being teased and hated, she hadn't cried. Well, not all the time. There had been a few times in her first two years where she'd break down and give into the emotions of sadness, but it had been too long since she'd done such a thing.

She would be strong, she thought to herself. She wouldn't let anyone know that the things they did to her really hurt her.

She sat there for a few more minutes, listening as the rain grew heavier. She sighed heavily and looked up finally, resting her chin against her hands. The grey rain poured down, and she watched its hypnotizing dance.

But before long, she was jerked out of her daydreaming when a loud rushing noise was heard. She looked up and gasped loudly. She couldn't believe her eyes.

There, not a few yards up in the air, was someone falling - but it wasn't the fact that it was a person that startled her. It was the large, black wings spread out from their back.

"Wha-" she began just as the person crashed hard against the ground, sending up a flurry of slushed snow and ice. She winced as the cold water hit her exposed face.

After a few startled moments, she brushed the snow off her face and looked down. She could clearly see the person was a young man - no older than twenty by the looks of it.

His dark black hair splayed out against the white snow, along with the wings. His slightly tanned skin shown darkly as well, giving him a look of mystery. He wore clothes that looked a bit 'goth' to her, but in all honesty, she'd never met one before.

She stood up slowly, almost cautiously. What was this man? Carey approached him and knelt down. He was beautiful, really. His defined features, his perfect skin and slight build on his lean body. She reached out and pushed a strand of hair out of his face and noticed that it was tearstained.

"Hello?" she whispered, unsure if what she was seeing was real. The man didn't move. She moved her hand, brushing it accidentally against one of the large, feathery wings. A sense of ease came to her.

The man seemed to stir slightly with that and his eyelids fluttered a bit. A small groan left his lips as he moved - the impact must have hurt him.

"Excuse me," Carey said in a small, timid voice. She was still unsure - what was this guy? An Angel? You had to be kidding… She peered closer at the man. There was some kind of resemblance to someone but she couldn't pinpoint it.

She stared for a few moments, completely awed. It was the first time anything remotely odd had happened since she first received her Hogwarts letter and found out about her parents.

At the thought of her parents, she jolted backwards a bit and gaped openly. The man in front of her resembled her father!

"D… Dad?" she squeaked.

At her voice, his eyes snapped open. They were unfocused for a few seconds, but soon flared a violent, bright green. She gasped at the life in them - they were so unnatural. She nearly fell over, but gentle hands grasped her shoulders.

"Be careful," he said calmly. Carey looked up at him and realized she had been wrong. There were similarities, but her father had never had green eyes, and he had been taller in the pictures she'd seen. She blushed horribly at the mere thought of even thinking that her father had come to guide her.

"Where am I?" a pleasantly deep, calm voice asked. She found herself looking up into the eyes of the stranger.

"Y-You're at P-Privet Drive," she squeaked. Was he going to hurt her? He still hadn't let go of her yet.

The man blinked and looked up. His eyes landed on the front door and for a moment, she nearly thought he'd bolt out of there.

"It can't be…" he whispered. "this place was destroyed years ago…"

She looked unsurely at him. Destroyed? No, but she could only wish!

"Uhm…" she looked at him, unsure. "Who are you?"

Surprised, the man let go of her and she fell back into the icy slush. She didn't care though, as she was more intrigued by the man in front of her.

"I should be asking you," was his next words. These surprised her, as a cold edge lingered on each syllable.

"I-I'm Carey," she stumbled over the words. She was scared at what he might do.

"Carey?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes," she whispered this time, "Carey Potter."

The man was quite taken aback, she noticed. He stared incredulously at her, eyes wide in horror.

"No," he mumbled, backing away. "No, no, no!"

"No?" she questioned weakly. What was he on about? She _was_ Carey.

"This… this isn't right!" he stood up, and the girl realized just how tall he was… and it wasn't by too much. He was actually short for his age, but nonetheless, he was still quite imposing. He moved fluidly, even as he winced from the pain in his body. He unsurely flapped his wings, as if he had no idea of what to do with them. After a few moments, his hands ripped at his hair in distress.

Carey stared, open mouthed. What if the Dursley's saw him? She'd be in so much trouble! As if reading her thoughts, the man looked down at her and gave a thin lipped smile but his worry showed through. "Wonder what they'd think about this sight."

Her eyes grew larger. What was he indicating? Had he actually read her mind? "Wha… what?"

"The Dursley's," he said quietly with a small wheeze. She continued to stare, open mouthed until the man groaned and held onto his side before falling to his knees. His breath was labored.

"Are you okay?" Carey asked. She crawled forward. He didn't seem like a bad guy, although there had been odd people about - like those Death Eaters at the World Cup.

"No," he stated, deadpan. "I'm hurt."

She was taken aback by the obviousness in his voice.

"Well, I only thought…"

The man was silent. "It's okay," he said eventually and sat up strait, eyes closed. He breathed in deeply. "I'm Harry."

She stared. How odd was this guy? His emotions and his actions changed constantly! "Nice to meet you?" it was more of a question.

He grinned and opened his eyes, the green flaring with life once more. "A pleasure."

There was another stretch of silence. Carey decided she wanted to find out more about this 'Harry'. "What are you?" she asked more boldly than she felt. His face twisted in pain and frustration and he looked away.

"I honestly don't know. I woke up like this not too long ago," he indicated, waving his hands towards his wings. "I was in a battle, and I thought I'd died. I guess I did, now that I'm an angel."

She gaped. After a few moments, she glared at the guy and said skeptically, "An angel? Is that possible?"

"I learned that anything's possibly," he stated, his eyes overcast with shadows. Carey felt her heart go out for the man and no longer doubted his words, for some reason or another. His tearstained face showed just how distressed he was. How would she feel if she had just died? The thought boggled her mind and she let it go.

"Well," she said, unsure of what she should tell him.

He laughed lightly, the melodious sound bringing a light warmth into her bones. But his next words were bitter, "Don't worry, Carey. I've learned as well to just take what life gives you - or death, now that I think about it."

She couldn't help but give him a shy smile. Even through his words, he gave a smile of warmth. Something about him calmed her - if he really was an angel, it could be that.

"Why are you here?" she decided to ask.

There was a pause and Harry looked up into the sky, his long locks falling over his shoulders. He looked emotionless, eyes piercing the air above him. "I don't know," he said eventually, shrugging his shoulders.

Carey stared once more, wide-eyed. Maybe he was a Guardian Angel! She had wished for someone to understand her - maybe he had been sent. But it was all so ludicrous! How could she actually think that? But… like he said, anything was possible!

"You're my Guardian Angel!" she said joyously, her voice awed.

His head snapped back to her and he stared, incredulously at her. "Guardian Angel? Me?"

"Yeah!" she smiled, "Right before you fell from the sky, I wished for someone to be here with me that could understand me. Maybe it's you!"

"But…" Harry looked irresolute. "If you're… certain…"

She smiled wide. She'd finally found that someone to be there with her.

* * *

Harry looked at this girl. Her hair was shorter than most he knew, but it was at a pleasant length. Her eyes were hidden by the horrid lenses like what he used to wear, and for some unknown reason, he felt that he knew she was like him in some ways. The only odd difference was the fact that she was a girl, and that she lacked the scar on her forehead. Was she the savior of the wizarding world if she was a Potter as well? She was living with the Dursley's so something had to have happened to her… or their, parents. 

She looked excited about the prospect of having him as a 'Guardian Angel' that he couldn't just say no. He felt drawn to her anyway, and felt that he couldn't just up and leave her.

So he decided that he would stay with this girl, and get to know the world around him. It was obvious he wasn't in his home anymore, because the Dursley's were there, and then there was Carey. He knew she wasn't a sister - it just wouldn't fit. Life and Death were full of mysteries.

"Carey," he said, the name odd on his tongue. She looked expectantly at him, cheeks flushed a deep pink in her excitement. "Are you… were…. Er."

"What?" she asked, leaning forward.

Harry stared, not sure why this girl was so trusting. "Did you kill Voldemort?"

Her face turned sour, and Harry thought he'd said something to insult her. "What are you on about?" she whispered. "Me, kill? You-Know-Who of all people?"

"I-I just thought… I was wondering…" the nickname for the dark wizard struck a part in him odd. He didn't like hearing it.

"Everyone knows who killed You-Know-Who! But, I suppose you didn't, because you're an angel.." she paused then smiled, eyes lighting up. "Where were you from? Are you some ancient angel come to help me, or are you some-"

"Wait!" Harry said desperately, trying to cut off her rant. Girls talked way too much! "That's what I'm trying to figure out, see, where I was from, it was just like this… just, different. You weren't there, but the Dursley's were. I lived with them."

"You?"

He nodded.

"But you… I don't know any Harry's… And the Dursley's don't, either. How could you live with them?"

"I'm not sure, but they died years ago…" he stated sadly. "Even though they were horrible to me, they were the only family I had after mum and dad were murdered…"

"Who was your mum and dad?" she questioned, "I might know who they were."

"Lily and James Potter," he said after a moment.

"What… that… that can't be," she said, her body jerking in surprise. "But that's my parents! You can't be my brother, can you?"

Harry's mind was completely boggled. "No… I don't… I don't think so…"

The girl was silent for a long time before she sat back up and crawled through the cold slush towards him. She had a hesitant look in her eyes, but nonetheless, smiled brightly. "Would you like to have a sister?"

"Carey," he said, stunned slightly. Was she really saying that… she'd be his sister? "What do you mean?"

"I mean," she said, slightly exasperated. "That you can be my brother! We have to be related in some way," she nodded excitedly at the same time, "because you're parents are my parents. How old are you?"

"I'm.. or I was seventeen," he looked away.

"Only seventeen? I thought you were older!"

"That's new," he smirked at the irony. "Most thought I was small for my age."

"That's what they say about me. They say I look twelve, although I'm fourteen," Carey replied sullenly. "But it doesn't bother me."

Harry looked up. This girl reminded him of himself a bit, but there were a lot of major differences.

"So what do you say?"

He stared into her eyes and saw a deep sadness in them. What would it hurt to go with this girl who claimed to be a Potter, and who seemed harmless? He was dead already, so she couldn't do too much harm to him. He sensed that she was good in his heart, and allowed the feeling to guide him. A new warmth filled Harry's bones as he smiled gently at the girl, his hair whipping around him in the winter wind. The smile that graced his face was of an angelic beauty, giving his face defined features.

"I'd love that."

The smile that spread across the girls face was enough to break the ice of any heart. And Harry felt himself finally feeling at ease for the first time in the past few years of the war. Even though he had no idea of what was happening, maybe, just maybe, he'd fit into this place. Wherever it was.

"_The ice shall break before nightfall and the stars will shine brightly with ease. Then we will take our journey through life until we meet our destiny's end. The destiny known as Death." -- quote by me (Min) that's written in an original story of mine. _

* * *

A/N: Yeah, it's not my best. I haven't written anything in a while, and I'm brushing up my work… it's horrible. I'm not so pleased, but at least I'm getting this out of my mind. Yup yup. Not to mention thatthis was an old plot bunny come to life by a friend of mine telling me to finish it. Someof the stories already written, but lets just say it's got the english skills of a nine year old. That's how old this plot is.- Mindy 


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize from the Harry Potter books and/or movies.**

A/N: Second chapter - hurrah! Constructive criticism is welcomed. Flames are tolerated.

* * *

Pretend World

By: xScenex

Chapter Two: Turning Events

* * *

"Come one," Carey urged. 

"I'm not flying through that window," Harry stated as calmly as possible, although on the inside, he was desperate to get out of anything that involved using his new wings. He was scared he'd fall over with them, and trying to squeeze through a window with them would be impossible. It wasn't every day that someone found themselves someplace odd with newly sprouted wings. He might have been brave, but making a total arse of himself in a muggle neighborhood was not one of his top priorities.

"But the Dursley's wont let you in! You know that!"

His eyebrows rose slightly, "I'm still not flying through a window."

"Aw," Carey pouted, her damp bangs hanging down into her eyes.

Harry sighed in unsure discomfort after a long moment as she stared at him with large eyes, "Carey, you can't just throw me into the house. Someone's bound to find out."

"No they wont, no one ever pays attention to me," she responded desperately. They stood there, racking their minds for any solution, then Harry came up with something rather ludicrous, and said the next phrase a bit jokingly.

"Look," the boy said, trying to ease up to the girl through the thick snow. "Why don't I just introduce myself as your long lost brother? It may save us a lot of trouble."

"They wont believe it," she stated, a tone of obviousness in her voice.

Harry gave a small groan and ruffled his wings. "I guess you're right. How am I supposed to explain these things?" he gestured towards the large black appendages on his back.

"Can you hide them?" the dark haired girl asked, walking over and tugging on the feathers of the right wing. Harry winced.

"Ow, stop that!" he turned around, pulling himself out of range of the girl. His cool demeanor was broken by the obvious hurt in his eyes. "They're much more sensitive than they look!"

She rolled her eyes. "Try to hide them."

"I don't know how," he countered, deadpan.

"How'd you sprout them in the first place?"

"I'm not sure!" Harry was getting very frustrated but at the same time, he felt as if he'd never be happier. It had been too long since he had been able to joke around with someone, and around this girl he felt as if he could just be himself. She seemed to just act herself, as well.

"Well, use magic! You're a wizard, right? Just vanish them or something."

"One problem," he told her, "I don't have a wand with me."

She sighed, giving up. "Fine, what will you do then? I don't want you to leave!"

"If I didn't have these bloody wings, this would be a lot easier," he mumbled, wishing he could just get rid of them. They were annoying anyway, as they kept ruffling up against his hair and arms. He was unused to them, and they were a bit much for his war torn mind.

At that moment, a shrinking, almost tightening sensation filled his back. He heard Carey gasp and he looked back at what she stared at. Which was nothing.

"They're gone!" she smiled. "I knew you could do it!"

Harry looked at the girl, who's emotions changed more than his. He must have had an odd look on his face because she slowly stopped smiling.

"Did I say something?" she asked, disappointed.

He shook his head. "No, it's just… you're so… different from the people I used to know. Not in a bad way," he assured quickly when she opened her mouth to protest. "I'm just… not used to the carefree atmosphere."

"Oh," she said. "Well, besides that, what are we doing now?"

She didn't even give Harry time to finish what he was saying. "Well, like I said before. I could be a… er, long lost brother?"

"How?"

"Uh." There was a long stretch of silence, in which the wind howled slightly. It was getting colder as the sky darkened. But Harry liked the feeling for some reason. The cold on his skin made him feel alive, as well as the crisp air around him. Winter… it was like the winter was in his blood now.

"Well! You could say that you were searching for your parents for a long time, because you grew up in an orphanage and didn't know who they were, until now when you traced the line back to me! You're not old enough to be a legal adult, so they can't just throw you out," Carey said breathlessly, eyes shining. "They'd have to take you in, as they're the only other relatives living!"

"But… I can't just appear out of nowhere."

"That's right," she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "You were… uh. Homeless?"

"Education?" Harry knew he couldn't just appear out of nowhere with complete knowledge of the wizarding world if he were an orphan.

"Uh. You were… given to someone because mum was too young to take care of you in school? They hid you because they were scared dad would be locked up because of her being a minor?"

"They were the same age."

"So?"

Harry kept his face blank, but inside, he was unsure whether he should laugh his head off or to scream. It was so complicated!

"Fine, we'll use that, but if things get complicated, then I'll just erase their memories."

"You can do that?" she stared up at him.

"Yeah, but I only do it when I'm desperate."

"I thought you didn't have a wand."

"I can do some wandless magic," he stated with an air of distaste.

"Oh," she looked towards the door where from the small pane in the middle glowed with light from inside. "We best get it over with then, Aunt Marge is over and I doubt she'll be too pleased."

"Bugger," Harry cursed. "Why's she here?"

"She wanted to grace the house with her presence," Carey rolled her eyes. "But it's okay. Two Potters are more than enough trouble for all of them. Dudley wont know what hit him!"

Harry smiled at the thought of Dudley. The kid had been horrible before when they grew up, but before he was murdered, Harry and the boy had come to a kind of truce. "Well, then lets go."

They walked up to the door, Harry brushing snow off his newly acquired clothes with his hands while Carey tried opening the door but found it still locked. She groaned, giving Harry an apologetic look which he just shrugged at. He knew the Dursley's games, and it didn't bother him too much.

"Knock?" Harry provided and banged his fist against the wooden door four times in a rhythmic way. There was some mumbling inside and then some loud shuffling before the door was thrust open. The revealed face was splotched purple with anger.

"Why are you making so much noise, you stupid girl! You'll wake up the entire neighborhood with your freakishness!"

Vernon Dursely was about to continue ranting as the child began to back away when Harry cleared his throat loudly, causing the man's head to swivel around to him.

He sputtered a bit, "What is the meaning of this?" he asked angrily, eyeing the black clothing wearily. "Girl, did you do something you shouldn't have? If I found out you've been bothering the neighbors with your mischief, I swear I'll-"

"Actually, sir," Harry interrupted in the calmest voice he had. In the past years, he had learned to calm himself instead of letting his temper rise. It was part of his training that Hermione gave him - to keep his cool. "Carey here, didn't bother anyone. She's been quite a host, in all honesty."

"Then why are you here?" Vernon hissed.

"I'm here because…" he looked unsurely at Carey. "Because I finally found my family."

Harry thought Vernon would pass out. "W-_what_ is this?"

"Well," Harry looked around as if it were obvious, "It looks like two children on a porch, with an angry Uncle shouting at them?"

"Wh-" the man's face nearly turned green. "What do you mean, 'uncle'?"

"I'm Harry Potter, sir," he replied as respectfully as he could to the man he hated. Practicing on Snape had paid off a bit.

"I don't know any Harry Potter!" he shouted, looking at Carey, "What are you playing at, girl? If this is another one of your mumbo jumbo tricks, you'll be sorry!"

"Actually, no, this isn't," Harry rolled his eyes and brushed his hair out of his eyes. He then stared intently into Vernon's, allowing him to see the seriousness in them. "I've been searching for my family since the time that I found out who I was. I quickly left the orphanage to find them, but it took a while. But I kept searching, snd I finally found my… baby sister, and my Uncle, Aunt, and cousin. Will you not greet me as I have you?"

After he said that, Vernon fainted.

"Oh no," Harry moaned. Carey looked like she wanted to laugh but clasped her hands to her mouth.

She mumbled between giggles, "You're a great actor."

Harry smirked a bit, "But we need to get someone out here to move him. He's like a blockade."

"Yeah…" Carey looked down at the man with distaste. "I suppose we should… AUNT PETUNIA! HURRY! UNCLE VERNON'S FAINTED AND IS BLOCKING THE DOORWAY!"

Harry wanted to clasp his hands to his ears at her shrill yell, but decided against it. Moments later, the floor shook as a woman made her way towards the pair of children - but it wasn't Petunia. It was Marge. Harry mentally groaned.

"What have you done, you good for nothing bitch?" she shouted at Carey as she waddled up to Vernon. From behind her you could see the faint figure of Petunia hurrying down the hall.

When Marge cursed at Carey, Harry felt his blood rise in temperature. "Excuse me," he said coldly, the words piercing the air like knives. "But you will refrain from calling Carey that. It's disgraceful."

"And who are you?" Marge asked, her face blotched up in anger, much like Vernon's had.

"I'm Harry James Potter," he replied. "Carey's brother."

"She has no brother," the woman laughed. "Isn't that right Petunia? She's the only runt born from those mongrel Potters!"

But Petunia, who had stopped at the doorway in horror, now looked up at Harry, and the boy saw a spark of fear and recognition in her eyes. Marge took this as an affirmative to her question and continued to rant.

"See, now get off this property before we call the police!"

The woman grabbed at a rather startled Carey and began to drag her into the house. Marge's pudgy fingers gripped tightly onto the girls upper arm, leaving white and red marks around it. She whimpered at the pain and tried to pull away. Her eyes were large and they found Harry's after mere moments. Harry couldn't let Marge win this one.

"You listen here," Marge said angrily. "Stop your whining and get inside. You - I will call the police if you do not get off Vernon's property!"

Harry glared at the woman as she pointed a finger at him, "I will not leave with you treating my sister as such. You could get in trouble for child abuse and neglect for the way you're treating her right now. So get your hands off of her before I call the authorities myself," he said angrily.

The woman didn't get the message and spat at him, "I wont listen to you! Get off this property, this instant!"

Harry had had enough. He rose his right hand up, "I'm warning you. Let go of her."

"And if I don't?" Marge sneered nastily.

The wind picked up around them, and without warning, Marge found herself flying back into the house as if something had just slammed into her. Petunia screamed, waking up Vernon who sputtered and blinked violently.

"You- You're one of them!" Petunia screamed in distress.

"Define _them_," Carey snapped at her Aunt. Harry could tell that she'd hit a soft spot.

Petunia ignored her and backed away while helping her husband up. "Vernon," she whispered, but Harry could hear the faint words. "That boy looks just like… just like him!"

"Who?" he mumbled, disgruntled and a bit confused.

"That Potter!"

"Your sisters-"

"Yes!"

There was silence. Harry could feel a drainage in his body's energy. That magic had taken too much out of him. He stood as tall as he could, his lean figure shaking slightly from the creeping exhaustion.

Finally, Vernon turned to face Harry, "What do you want with us? You're one of them - we want no more business with your kind."

Harry ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes. There was just so much to do with these people.

"Don't talk to Harry like that," Carey said before Harry was able to stop her. "You wont talk to my brother that way - you have no right!"

"What did you say you-"

Just as Vernon reached out for Carey much like Marge had done, Harry moved forward in a blink of an eye using his Quiditch reflexes to move in front of the girl. He held an arm out in front of him, stopping his uncle from moving forward anymore.

Harry's bright green eyes bore into dull ones as he stared at the man. They were unnerving. "Don't. Touch. Her. Understand?"

His Uncle eyed his hand for a moment, then nodded reluctantly. He backed away a bit before saying, "I don't see what you want with my family."

"I was hoping you'd take me in." he paused for a moment, the words taking effect in the others.

Petunia scuttled over to her husband, terrified. The fear shown in her eyes as she looked around her, and Harry couldn't help but smirk slightly.

"You see, I'm only seventeen, and too young to be on my own. You're the only family I have, and I was hoping that you would be just as glad to see me as I with you. But I have yet to see your kindness."

Vernon sputtered momentarily, "One of your kind is enough for me! You'll just have to march yourself right back to that orphanage! If it hadn't been for that blasted wizard at that mumbo jumbo school of yours, girl, you'd have been sent to one as well!"

Harry glanced distractedly at Carey. There was a pained expression on her face. Harry didn't like that. So the next thing he said came out of his mouth after a determined thought.

"If you believe such things," he stated quietly, almost as calm as the silence surrounding them. "Why don't you allow me to take Carey and we will be out of your lives forever."

Stunned silence met his words. Carey gasped and Vernon's beady eyes shined with a disgusting satisfaction.

He grinned madly, "You will take her?"

"Yes," Harry told him. "I'm a man of my word."

"Take her then," he let out a snort of amusement. "Let them be gone! Girl, get your things and get out!"

Those were the last words uttered to them as the man waddled down the hall to his sister. Harry didn't even wait for his Aunt to move from the doorway before he rushed inside, grabbing Carey's hand on the way.

Petunia stared unsurely at him, and as he passed her, his eyes landed momentarily on hers. He gave her a small smile, then turned away. The visible relief in her eyes were unseen by either.

The next half hour passed quickly as Harry helped Carey gather her things together. The room was much like his had been, but there were more girly accessories around. And more books. Much, much more books.

By the time they had packed everything, and Harry shrunk it all by using Carey's wand, it was completely dark outside.

"Where will we go?" she asked, breathless.

Harry paused in pulling a makeshift bag over his shoulders. He stared out of the window for a moment before saying, "I don't know. But I have an idea."

"An idea?"

He nodded. "Have… uh. Was there ever a man who escaped from Azkaban?"

"Escaped from that prison?" she questioned, astonished. "No one could escape from there!"

"But… it's liable to happen," he gave her a small, amused grin. "I knew someone who did."

"Who?"

"My Godfather."

"Who?"

"Sirius Black, was his name." At the sound of his name, Harry's eyes narrowed with sadness. His heart felt like bursting at the mere thought of his deceased Godfather.

"Sirius… Black? The man who killed mum and dad?" her voice trembled. "He escaped?"

Harry's green eyes flashed violently again. "He was innocent!"

"He killed them! How could he be innocent?" Carey nearly shouted, eyes filling with tears.

"He was framed," Harry leaned limply on the windowsill. His body ached and hurt from all the activities. But his energy was slowly coming back.

"Framed by who?" she spat.

"Peter Pettigrew."

"He's dead!" Carey cried out. "He died when Black killed him, you know."

Harry shook his head disbelieving. He had been there and done that. "Never mind, then. I have an idea of what to do."

She sniffed slightly and picked up the other shrunken bag and swung it over her shoulders. "What?"

"It's a surprise," he whispered. His eyes sparkled mischievously and he gave her a smile. Then, he thought of his wings and how he needed them. The pain wasn't as horrible as the first time around, but as they sprouted from his already sore back, small flecks of red spattered against the walls. Maybe he shouldn't do that more than once in a few hours, he thought sourly. "Do you have everything?"

Carey nodded, concern in her eyes. "What are you doing?"

He smiled and lunged forward. "This!" he cried out loudly as his arms clasped around the girls' shoulders. He spun her around then held her in a tight embrace right as he turned on heel. They began falling backwards to the floor and with a sound much like that of a light, musical note, they disappeared. The tinkling sound echoed throughout the room, along with the ringing laughter of the Angel.

And then, the room was completely empty, with the exceptions of shadows and dark light that danced about with the falling feathers left in place of the Angel.

The night had only begun.

"_Been there and gone tomorrow without saying goodbye to yesterday. Are the memories I still hold valid? Or have the tears deluded them? Maybe this time tomorrow the rain will cease to follow and the mist will fade into one more today. Something somewhere out there keeps calling. Am I going home…?Will I hear someone singing solace to the silent moon?" Wolfs Rain theme, Gravity. I do not own this song. _

_

* * *

A/N: So, I guess this chapter is decent. The chapter was originally completely different, but I thought that it was going too fast and slow in places for my liking. So I kind of revised it, so there might be places that don't fit. If anyone who reads this sees a place that doesn't go well with the rest, please notify me so that I'm aware of it. I'm not that great at re-editing, so yeah. Although this one is a bit boring, I rather liked it. It helps steer the story into a different direction compared to the first time around. _

Anyways, thanks to those who reviewed and read the first chapter! I was quite surprised to find that nearly twenty-five people were reading this when it had only been posted for a day and a half. That's never happened with any of my stories before. -- Min


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the Harry Potter books and or movies is not mine.**

A/N: I'm glad so many people like this story. I had my doubts - I really did. But now I think that a lot of people will enjoy it. Around fourty people are reading this, and the feedback is amazing.

Well, since it's almost the weekend, I may update a few more times before Monday. Or by Monday... maybe Tuesday, but there should be at least two more updates. I've got a cold, so I wont be going anywhere. So the computer will be my enjoyment for the next few days. - Min

* * *

Pretend World

by: xScenex

Chapter Three: Strangers Bite  
(Yes, odd title, I know)

_

* * *

Previous:_

_He smiled and lunged forward. "This!" he cried out loudly as his arms clasped around the girls' shoulders. He spun her around then held her in a tight embrace right as he turned on heel. They began falling backwards to the floor and with a sound much like that of a light, musical note, they disappeared. The tinkling sound echoed throughout the room, along with the ringing laughter of the Angel._

_And then the room was completely empty, with the exceptions of shadows and dark light that danced about with the falling feathers left in place of the Angel._

_The night had only begun._

* * *

It was a different sensation to that of normal wizarding apparition. The feeling was more warm and soothing than that of the squeezing of a tube. Harry smiled at the tingling of his skin. He liked this traveling method. 

In mere moments though, it was over and Harry nearly laughed when Carey screamed out loud as they found themselves high above Privet Drive, up in the chill air.

"Harry!" she cried out, clutching onto him with a vice grip. "Go down! I don't want to fly!"

"Don't you play Quidditch?"

"No," she buried her face against his chest. "I hate it."

His eyebrows rose in surprised confusion. "Well, you'll just have to hold on then. This is the best way to travel. At least I know I wont get stuck somewhere, like with apparition."

"Right," came the reluctant reply. "But it's so cold."

Harry didn't find it that cold, but out of kindness, he struggled wandlessly to turn a feather into something cloth like. What came out wasn't much of a blanket, but it was something. With only one arm holding onto the scared girl, he wrapped it around her. "Better?"

"Sort of," she mumbled.

"So tell me," Harry said while looking around. "What are things like in this place?"

"What do you mean?"

Harry paused and thought carefully. What did he really mean? What did he really want to know? He knew that he had left his own life, and was somewhere else. "Well, what year is it?"

"It's 1994. Well, nearly 1995, but that's in a few days," she told him matter-of-factly.

"Wow," he muttered. "It's definitely not my time then."

"What do you mean?" she echoed her previous words.

"Before I woke up here, it was 1999. Talk about time-travel."

"Wow, so what's it like in a few years?" Carey asked, eyes bright with the thought of the future.

Harry frowned and looked away. He felt his skin tingle at the thought of the future and what had already happened to him. He blinked and looked up at the shrouded night sky and whispered, "Horrible."

Carey didn't say anything, nor did Harry for a long time. When he finally did, he told her randomly, "Carey, you never did tell me who defeated Voldemort."

The girl sucked in her breath loudly, "Don't say his name!"

A deep anger filled his chest, "What; Voldemort? Why shouldn't I say his name? It's not like he'll come bear down on you if you say it. To fear the name only increases the fear of the thing itself." Those borrowed words seemed to linger in the air. Carey's face was set to stone and she wouldn't look Harry in the eyes.

He ignored it, used to the looks from people he had known. "Well? Who is it?"

She hesitated for a moment, as if she were debating if she should tell him or not. Eventually, she said stiffly, "Draco Malfoy."

That was like a slap to the face. Harry felt himself go into numb shock at the mere thought of a Malfoy being 'The-Boy-Who-Lived'. "You can't be serious…"

"Of course I am, why would I lie about that?"

"… Malfoy?" he asked weakly. "Why him? It makes no sense…"

"What's wrong with him being The-Boy-Who-Lived? Better him than me," Carey sniffed quietly. "I heard that mum and dad were targeted by You-Know-Who as well, and I had a chance to be the savior. Why are you so shocked, anyway? Wasn't Draco The-Boy-Who-Lived where you were?"

Harry moved his head in a half nod, half shake of his head. He had no way of responding to that question at the moment, as the shock was still fresh.

"Harry… Harry? Are you alright?"

It took a few moments before the boy was aware of Carey waving a hand in front of his face.

Harry faked grinned before he moved his wings in an upward sweep. "Of course I'm fine," he told her. But on the inside, he was actually quite confused and unsettled. The movement of his wings took them a few yards up and over. He decided that it was time to start experimenting on how to actually fly right. It wasn't exactly easy, he mused.

After about eight minutes of zooming endlessly above the house, he found a way to fly that didn't seem too awkward.

"Okay, ready for take-off," he said lightly. Carey didn't respond. He looked down and realized that she was asleep in his arms. He had been so determined in his efforts to fly that he hadn't realized she'd dozed off. The boy smiled slightly at the look of ease on her face before he took off westward.

The night passed by slowly, almost at an agonizing pace. Harry liked the feel of the chill air on his face, as his wings swept the air into a riveting current. He just worried that Carey would catch a cold. And he worried that he may not be able to go on for much longer.

The grief that had settled in his heart hours before was still there, and his body ached for numerous reasons. Using that wandless magic earlier before had taken a lot of energy out of him, but he tried to just push the fatigue to the back of his mind and pushed on into the night.

After a while had passed, Harry began to recognize some of the surrounding area. He planned to go to the Burrow and find Scabbers and take him to the ministry if it was possible. He was surprised that Sirius hadn't escaped yet, and thought hard about it. He wondered if it was because Carey wasn't the chosen one of the prophecy, and she wasn't in much trouble. But if Sirius was still in prison, then Peter was still hidden away in his rat form. That meant that to find him, he'd have to find Ron and the other Weasley's. At the sudden thought of them, he faltered in his flying and fell nearly three yards before catching himself.

He winced as he struggled to hold onto the sleeping form of the girl in his arms. It wasn't that she was heavy, she was just more weight to add to his exhaustion and the fall had taken his breath right out of his lungs. He vaguely wondered if Angel's usually breathed in air. He had thought them to be immortal beings.

An icy wind blew around him and he had to fight against the current to stay upright. Maybe it would be better if he took a rest.

Slowly, he lowered himself towards the ground. It was more of a suburban area, with less houses and shops. More stretches of fields came into view, and Harry was grateful for that.

He was getting closer to the snow covered ground, when he realized he was only a few meters away from a small, dully lit house. The curtains were open and he could see shadows of people from inside. He cursed and pushed with his wings to back himself away and into the shadows but didn't count on the gust of wind from his wings to cause hidden wind chimes to sound riotously against each other.

"Bugger," he groaned as he flung his wings up over his head in attempt to raise himself up again. On the push downwards, a flurry of snow flew in every direction just as someone looked out of one of the windows.

He zoomed upwards a few yards and looked down just in time for the front door of the house to open, and out came two people.

"What was that?" a timid voice asked loudly. It was obviously a woman.

"I don't know, but did you see that? Whatever it was, it unsettled all the snow!" This was a man's voice.

"Maybe it was a wolf?"

"Nah, they aren't around this area," the man answered back. Harry held his breath and moved his wings as quietly as he could to stay up in the air. "What's that?"

Harry saw the man point towards him. The snow illuminated everything with it's white presence and trying to hide in the night was nearly impossible.

"Is it a bird?"

Harry flapped his wings strongly, sending another gust of air towards the people. He didn't purposely mean to catch them with the current; he just wanted out of there.

"Ah!" the woman's scream was loud in his ears.

"What the -- that's not a bird!"

Harry cursed and turned to fly away, but with his luck, he didn't flip right and ended up falling over with the weight of the girl in his arms. They fell towards the ground a bit and he nearly lost his grip on Carey for the umpteenth time. In all the commotion, he failed to notice that the girl had woken up and looked up at him as if he were a dream.

"Harry?" she whispered, her voice hoarse with sleep. "Is that you? What's going on?"

"Just a bit of a run in, that's all," he replied with clenched teeth. "Just hold on tight. I'm having a few difficulties staying upright. Some people saw me down there."

That's when Carey looked down and screamed loudly at the height and latched her arms around his neck tightly. Harry nearly cursed angrily, but instead, he focused on moving back up into a semi-correct position.

"Danny, that… that _thing_ has someone!"

"What is that thing!"

"Get the gun! Danny, get the gun! It'll get us too!"

The shrieks of terror that came next were horrendous. Harry felt his mind fog with confusion of what was going on. He fought against wanting to land on the ground as he could feel his muscles began to give out on him. He had trouble breathing with Carey's arms around his neck, cutting off much needed oxygen. A light-headed feeling came to him.

He felt himself lowering more to the ground, and shut his eyes tightly. "Carey," he ground out desperately, "Please loosen your hold, I can't breathe."

The girl gasped in surprise. "I'm so sorry! I'm--"

A loud sound boomed from below them, cutting off anything the girl was saying. Harry's eyes flew open as a piercing pain filled his left leg. He let out a agonized yell, his voice ripping through the night nearly as loud as the metallic noise from before.

He had just been shot at.

"Harry! What was that?" Carey's voice was panicked and Harry wasn't sure what to say to her as the pain grew even more profound.

"Just hold on, and be quiet," he told her with a pained growl. He turned around, shielding Carey instinctively with his own self. His wings quivered at his pain and he hurriedly forced them to shoot down, causing him to fly upwards in a huge arc. Another shot came and this time it missed them by a few feet.

"It's getting away!"

Another shot came and Harry felt his body go into complete panic as the bullet seared through his left wing. He couldn't see through the white and black spots that now clouded his vision. A scream ripped from his throat and his wings responded in desperate, jerky movements.

Without knowing where he was heading, Harry flew off blindly. Carey was sobbing hysterically in his arms and it was without a doubt that she was starting to be covered in his own blood.

The girl was saying things to him but he didn't hear her over the wind in his ears, and the ringing that sounded in his mind.

The pain… the pain was too much, he thought. He gagged on the air he breathed, sputtering violently. His breathing became labored and he staggered in the air as the cold wind hit his throbbing wounds. Luckily, they were now far enough away from the couple with the gun to not be shot at or seen.

"Harry!" Carey shouted loudly. Said boy looked up for one single moment only to see tears on the girls face, before he felt himself black out. And with that, he fell backwards towards the ground for the second time that night… down into the darkness once more.

* * *

Back at the small house, the couple stared in shocked silence at the sky above them. 

"Wh… what was that thing?"

"It looked like a giant bird," the girl whispered, clutching onto her boyfriend, Danny.

"I don't think that was a bird," he responded, hands shaking as they held desperately onto the gun. "when I shot it, it let out a human scream. No animal sounds like that - especially not a bird."

"Then what was it?"

"I don't know…"

"Should we call the police?" The girl looked at him, "They might be able to track it."

"Okay, lets call them. It's best not to stay out here in any case."

The girl nodded, and her and her boyfriend headed back into the house, making sure to lock all their doors and windows.

* * *

The next thing he felt was the cold snow against his soaked back. He didn't want to open his eyes to the surrounding darkness, so he kept them closed. He could feel a heavy weight on his chest through the searing pain. What was it? 

Carey? He called out to the girl but no answer came back to him. He called out once more and opened his eyes to the bleary surroundings.

The girl was on top of him, obviously unconscious. He groaned loudly and shifted a bit to try and get up. His wings provided some help, and he was quite surprised to find them not broken, albeit the feathers were ruffled horribly and one wing was stiff when dried blood.

When he was able to get into a sitting position, he shook Carey lightly. She didn't respond and Harry wondered for a moment if she was injured. Luckily, after inspecting, he found her to be quite fine, besides the fact that she was covered in his own blood and soaked with the cold water from the snow. He noted that she also had a large bump on the side of her head - she must have acquired it during their fall.

He then realized that he needed to get them somewhere safe or they might freeze to death. He gritted his teeth against the pain and stood up the best he could on his good leg, while only putting so much weight on his other leg to make it bearable. He'd been through worse - but pain was still fresh in his mind.

"Bloody hell," he groaned loudly. "I'm never going near a gun again."

He whipped his wings up, showering himself with flakes of ice and snow. With that movement, he swung them down again and lifted awkwardly into the air.

The going was rough, but he eventually found himself making some progress. He had been out for a long time, as the sky was beginning to lighten on the horizon. Morning was coming soon.

As he got higher up into the air, he took a through look around him. He knew where he was. He was near Ottery St. Catchpole. The Burrow had to be close by. He thought idly if it was worth going there to try and save himself and Carey. He decided it was the best thing. Besides, he didn't want Carey to get sick.

But he couldn't let them see his wings, that was for sure. So he landed shortly after the tall, leaning building of the Weasley's home came into view. He got rid of his wings quickly and fell to his knees in the snow where it wasn't so dense.

He laid the girl down in his lap to get a better hold of her to carry. He slipped on arm under her back and the other under he knees and stood up painfully. He could get there in good time; he'd been through worse in the war.

He knew he had to be a bit quick about it though - his body wouldn't hold out against the blood loss for too much longer. But the small rest had helped a bit, and he was able to concentrate some.

So for the next ten minutes, he stumbled, staggered, and slumped towards to large house where he yearned to be. He kept his mind off thinking of the Weasley's, all of whom he cared about deeply. He couldn't let the fact that they were alive here mess with him. He had more important things to do than to think of what had happened in his own past.

Before he realized it, he found himself at the front door of the house. He looked around unsurely through the dawn's first light. The air of winter was crisp and gave him a bit of hope.

Clumsily, he set the girl down on her feet, holding her up by her waist as she lent back against him. He vaguely wondered what had happened to his makeshift blanket for her but shrugged the thought away. It wasn't the time to think of that.

He knocked unsurely at the door. He wasn't quiet positive if Mrs. Weasley was already awake, or not. She had a way of changing her sleeping habit around depending on what kind of week or month it was or had been. Luck was on his side, and he could hear movement from inside. He smiled gratefully and rested one palm against the doorframe to hold himself up as he tried to put all his weight on his other foot.

Moments later, the door opened a crack and he could see a flash of red hair.

"Hello? Can I…"

There was a loud gasp and a face came into view. That was as much as Harry's mind could take, seeing the face of someone who he loved dearly in his past. He felt his eyes roll to the back of his head and he fell forwards as his world closed in with black silence.

* * *

A/N: 

"_You wished me dead. And so be it."_

"_You had a choice, brother of mine. But you chose a wrong path to follow."_

"_It was destiny."_

"_There is no destiny in this world. Not now, not ever."_

"_Can you be certain?"_

"_There is no destiny, no faith! We are human, and we will chose our own wills!"_

"_You are human. I am not. Remember this: When the sun falls from the sky, you will not be alone. I will be waiting…" _

Scene in a story I'm writing. Copyright goes to me. :D Pfft. I'm too poor to own a copyright. I thought it sort of suited the story I'm writing, in a very odd way. Voldemort and Harry are sworn enemies, connected in some way. In my story, there are two brothers (twins) and one is good and the other is evil. The evil twin sold himself away to the evil in the world and became less human. In the end, they fight and the good twin kills the evil, but the last words he spoke to the good one were those. Lol. Well, it's not really the story itself, it's a story within a story. Confusing, no? Sorry. I'll shut up now.

So yeah, this chapter seems a bit repetitive. Re-writing this chapter from what was already there was so hard. I should have just deleted the original and written this all over again, as it's too… well, tedious. But meh.. It provides some information that could give you clues to things. I guess. Or maybe it just solves a few of your questions.

Anyways, uh… another note: after this chapter, updates may take a few more days than they have been. These chapters I've updated were really all together six chapters originally (they were really short) and I put them together. They were all that had been written chapter-like, but I have a bit more in rough-draft form. The next chapter is already halfway written, so that should be up soon. But after that, it may take longer.

;; Min


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the Harry Potter books and/or movies is not mine.

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Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time.

A/N: I'm not in the mood to rant, so on with the story!

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Pretend World

By: xScenex

Chapter Four: Give Me Discomfort

**xScenexxenecSx .o.o.o.o.o. xScenexxenecSxxScenexxenecSx .o.o.o.o.o. xScenexxenecSx**

Molly Weasley stared out of her door, shocked, as a young man and a child fell through her open door, completely unconscious.

It wasn't very often she found herself in such a position, with two children inside her house looking as if they'd been through Hades itself. Her shocked mind suddenly clicked into a defensive mode for the children and she hurried forward towards the girl who was halfway under the boy.

She inspected the girl, then the boy. She knew by instinct that things weren't in any good condition. There was blood, the smell of death, and cold lingering on their features.

She did all she knew to do at this point. She yelled for her husband, who was upstairs getting ready to go to the Ministry. On Christmas, of all days.

Moments later, the wiry form of Arthur Weasley appeared on the staircase as he attempted to tie his tie. "Molly, dear, what's wrong?"

"Arthur, come here and help me!"

"What…" his voice trailed off as his eyes landed on the two figures on the floor. "Dear Merlin, what happened? Who are they?"

"I don't know," Molly said in a voice of complete control. "But they need help right now. Contact…"

"We can't contact St. Mungo's. Death Eaters are everywhere these days, and there's no telling what they've been doing in that hospital lately. There's been more patient death's in the past three months then there have been in the past two years."

"I'll call up Dumbledore - see if Madam Pomfrey can come take a look at them. Levitate them into the sitting room."

The next few minutes went by in a flurry of confusion as the floo fire roared with urgent calls and many things were prepared for the strangers as the two Weasley adults tried to make them comfortable on the makeshift pallets.

"Do you think they're muggles?" Molly questioned once she turned back around from the fireplace, having been informed that the Hogwart's nurse would be at their house in mere minutes with the Headmaster.

"I'm not sure. We'll find out once they wake up."

"But what if they see us using magic and they are muggles?"

"We'll have to erase their memories," he told his wife seriously.

Molly scowled. She hated doing such things to children. She was about to snap back at her husband when the fireplace roared brightly with fire and out stepped the medi-witch they had been waiting for.

"Poppy!" Molly cried out in surprise. She hadn't realized the woman would be there so soon. Seconds later, an elderly man came through the fire as well, his sweeping robes scraping across the grate. Albus Dumbledore had arrived.

"Molly, Arthur," he said gravely with a nod. "Where are the children?"

"Over here," Arthur motioned for everyone to follow him.

When they surrounded the pallets, Dumbledore shook his head with sad confusion.

"What is it, Albus?" Molly asked, her tone voicing her confusion.

"I recognize the young lady," he told her gravely. "That is Miss Carey Potter, fourth year student in Hufflepuff House."

"She's a fourth year?" the woman was clearly taken aback. "She looks no older than eleven!"

"She's small for her age," he replied then turned his attention on Poppy. "What are the injuries?"

The medi-witch shot the elderly man an annoyed look, "I haven't inspected them yet, so I have no idea, Albus." She huffed and began to poke and prod the boy with her wand. He seemed to be in the worst condition so it was only natural to start with him first.

Molly watched, alert for any signs of the boy showing any pain. As she continued to stare, she became a bit baffled by the boy's looks. It wasn't often that one would see a teenager with such… features. And something about him seemed to pulse with magic - not 'magic' magic, but… enchantment, really. She found that she couldn't explain what she felt coming from the boy, but she eased up a bit. They were no strangers, obviously. If Dumbledore knew the girl, then he must know who the boy was.

Poppy continued her inspection, nodding and frowning at various intervals. She tapped her wand against his right arm for a moment then shook her head. Her wand moved over to the other, but her reaction was the same. After a thoughtful moment, she slipped the wand up and prodded his shoulder. Without warning, the boy let out a loud cry and sat up completely straight. His voice became a strangled cough as he began to try and push himself away in confused panic.

"Back away," the Headmaster commanded the others as the child pushed himself up into a defensive fighting stance, although his head was bowed with pain. He fell limp against a wall, but kept upright. "Don't try to frighten him."

"He'll hurt himself!" Arthur said frantically. "Albus, we must restrain him. He's bleeding; and look at his leg!

There was silence for a moment before Dumbledore took a few steps towards the boy. He held out a hand slowly, "Child, we are not here to hurt you. You must relax so you don't hurt yourself further."

The boy didn't respond vocally, but his body stiffened and shook noticeably. At first, Molly thought he was about to attack the Headmaster, but she was wrong.

She watched as his head lifted up slowly and nearly gasped at the sight. The eyes - his eyes were so bright; so piercing and alive that they seemed to cut right through the very darkness shadowing his face.

Molly was very sure she was seeing something otherworldly at that moment.

Too bad she didn't even know the half of it.

**xScenexxenecSx .o.o.o.o.o. xScenexxenecSxxScenexxenecSx .o.o.o.o.o. xScenexxenecSx**

The pain was flaring through his body, but it was nothing compared to the despair that filled his heart. He was surrounded by people he once knew and loved. Somewhere in his mind, he knew they weren't the same that he knew. There was something off about them. He wanted to flee, like an animal faced with danger, but he knew he couldn't. He would have had to face it sooner or later.

In whatever place he was in, it had to be much earlier on in life. He vaguely wondered if he had gone back in time, but thought against that because even though it seemed to be years before the last battle, Carey had never been in his life up until just recently.

He inspected each person quietly, trying to think out his position. He was encircled by these armed adults, with Carey behind them still unconscious. He had two wounds, and he was exhausted. If his old Moody saw him like this, he would curse the boy for not having constant vigilance.

He nearly laughed at that thought, seeing a mental image of the old auror pointing his wand at the boy and berating him for his stupidity while his magical eye swiveled in all directions. He'd always found Moody to be amusing after he learned the true feelings of the man.

His amusement must have showed on his face, because Arthur and Molly were staring unsurely at him, and Dumbledore's eyes held less twinkle as they had previously.

Harry knew that none of the adult wizards would harm him unless he proved to be any harm to them, so he just decided to relax. But that was a bad idea.

The moment his muscles relaxed, he slumped forward onto the floor against his will. He groaned in annoyance as he slammed hard against the floor but otherwise he didn't make a noise. He'd definitely had worse.

He felt a pair of hands rest gently against his shoulders and seconds later, he was flipped gently over on his back. He found himself staring into the warm eyes of Arthur Weasley.

"Uhn," he gagged on his emotions and turned his head to the side. He couldn't stare at the man for long without getting choked up and a familiar taste of bile formed in his mouth.

"Poppy, what's wrong with him?" the red haired man intoned towards the nurse. "He seems unable to speak."

"He's in shock," she said stiffly. "It's best to give him a bit of space."

"We can't leave him on the floor," Molly said stubbornly. "Arthur, bring him over here."

Harry felt himself being lifted gently. He didn't like the feeling. He was used to being levitated to places - not carried.

"Le-go," he whispered, embarrassed at the thought of someone seeing him like that. "M'fine…"

"No, you're not," he heard the distinctive voice from Molly scold him. A small chuckle from his right and he had to bite his tongue from voicing his distress. He couldn't believe Dumbledore was there.

He began to struggle against the hold he was in, but Arthur turned out to be surprisingly strong. He didn't like that, and began to feel panicky. After the war had officially been announced, he couldn't stand not having control over himself. Voldemort had used the Imperius Curse too many times on him before he was able to ignore it. He hated the caged feeling.

The air around him seemed to close in and he felt his blood grow warm at the adrenaline in his veins. He struggled more and let out a piercing yell. He wanted to be put down.

The air seemed to grow thicker and his imagination provided a stench - one that Harry was acquainted with - blood. He saw spots in his eyes and his mind rushed him with memories or times when he had been held captive.

During the Triwizard Tournament. At the Ministry building after Sirius' death. Up in the Astronomy Tower before Dumbledore died. When he had been captured that following summer by Lucius Malfoy….

"We might have to restrain him," he heard Madam Pomfrey say.

"No!" he screamed as the images flashed by. He started struggling out of Arthur's grip and eventually pried himself away. The ending result was of him falling flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling. The impact of solid ground was enough to rip him free from his memories.

His breathing was heavy and he was sweating. Harry closed his eyes tightly, hoping that the burning panic would evaporate.

"Dear boy, are you all right?"

"No," he breathed, "No, it… it wasn't…" he shook his head and opened his eyes again, only to find himself staring into twinkling blue ones. A startled look spread over both faces and Harry scurried backwards a bit. He had forgotten they were there.

"It wasn't…?"

"Nothing… just a dream." Harry trembled a bit, wishing only that that had been a dream.

"I see."

Harry took time to look around. He noted that the Burrow looked quite similar to how it had before.

After a few moments of complete silence, he realized that all eyes were on him. His face flushed gently and he sat up slowly.

"Uhm…" he looked down at his hands, which were shaking. How would anyone react towards people who were supposed to be dead? "W… where am I?" he asked shakily.

"You're at our house," Molly provided kindly. "We call it the Burrow. It's near Ottery St. Catchpole."

Harry nodded slightly and looked at Molly with his unnerving eyes. He decided it was time to get things rolling, whether or not his emotions stopped him. "And who are you?"

"I'm Molly Weasley, and this is my husband Arthur," she provided.

He smiled slightly then looked over to Dumbledore. The elderly wizards eyes twinkled and he said, "I'm Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. I am Headmaster to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And this here," he motioned towards the nurse. "Is Poppy Pomfrey, school nurse. And may we ask who you are?"

Harry's eyes became slightly dull as he stared at the wizard. So many emotions and memories came to him in mere seconds but he pushed them aside in his mind. No use in letting them get to him. He knew that Dumbledore had a way of knowing things, so he had to play his cards just right.

"I'm still trying to figure that out, Sir." Harry's voice was steady and he stared fully into the twinkling eyes.

"What do you mean, m'boy?"

"I have no idea who my true family is, but I have been trying to find them for a long time."

"I see. And what are you doing with miss Potter, here?"

There was a pause. Harry sent a look over at the girl, "I think she is my sister."

"Sister?"

"Yes."

"And why do you believe that?" there was amusement in Dumbledore's voice. Harry knew he was playing at something.

"Because she is the only other Potter I've ever heard of."

"But Potter is a rather popular name, don't you think?" Arthur cut in.

Harry shot him a blank look, which startled the man. The Weasley's ears began to turn a deep red.

"If it's such a popular name, then why wasn't I able to find anyone else?" he questioned calmly.

Arthur didn't say anything to that, although his ears did turn a rather interesting color. Harry felt bad - he didn't mean to insult the man. He was just so unsure of what to do.

"And what has Miss Potter said about this theory?"

"She thinks I might be her brother," Harry told the Headmaster. "She said that I look like her father, and I have her mother's eyes."

He watched the wizard nod his head slowly, eyes twinkling more behind his spectacles. "I did notice a rather uncanny resemblance to you and James Potter."

"Then why are you questioning me?" Harry found himself asking.

"We must take all precautions, my dear boy. The world is not a safe place anymore…"

Harry knew this was his chance to make himself fit into his act. "What do you mean? Why isn't it safe?"

The adults exchanged looks. Harry knew they were uncertain about something, but what, he wasn't sure. Maybe they didn't know he was a wizard - you couldn't tell just by looking at someone to tell if they were magical or not.

Harry decided to put down some cards. "What's that?" he pointed to the wand sticking out of Arthur's pocket.

Everyone awake in the room looked to where Harry's finger was pointed. Molly cleared her throat uncertainly.

"Is it a wand?" He questioned slowly. He watched as the red-haired man nodded gradually.

"So you're like me?" Harry's voice was of fake awe. "You can do magic as well?"

"You're a wizard?" Dumbledore asked him.

"Well, I think so," Harry gave him a shrug. "Someone from the orphanage said I had the ability and showed me some things up until he died last summer. He showed me how to use.. Magic. I thought it was a joke at first, but when I was able to do my first spell, I realized it was true. But he never told me much else besides what he knew of magic."

"So you don't know anything about our world?"

Harry shook his head slowly. "Your world?"

"There is a whole community of wizards," Dumbledore said, his eyes staring at Harry's intently as if searching for something. Harry felt uneasy for a few seconds. "We call it the Wizarding World."

"There's loads more of you guys?" Harry questioned and mentally slapped himself for how childish he sounded.

"More than most would believe," the wizard intoned with a humorous smile. "I would have thought that your mentor would have spoke about others like you."

Harry shook his head slowly. "He didn't seem to know much, himself."

"May I ask who he was?"

Harry thought desperately for a name. "Si… Simon Outlaw?"

Silence.

Harry felt a red flush creep onto his cheeks but he shook it off. If they didn't want to believe him, then that was their problem.

"I've never heard of that surname before," Arthur said. "Was he muggle-born?"

Harry gave the man a confused stare, although inside, he cursed at how quickly they were asking questions. He hadn't even thought that part up yet - all he'd thought of was getting Sirius free!

"I wouldn't know, sir," he responded. "Like I said, he didn't know much, and only taught me what he knew."

"I see," Dumbledore said. "Well, enough of this. We've wasted enough time on talking - Harry, was it? We need to look at your leg. It looks like you've had a nasty wound."

Harry blinked for a moment, then looked down. Sure enough, his pant leg was dark with blood stains. He reached down, realizing that it didn't hurt much. He pressed his fingertips down gently, seeing if the wound was still tender.

He didn't feel much, except for the feeling of pressure on skin.

He looked around, noting that everyone's eyes were once more on him. Shrugging as if this was a every-day normal thing, he rolled the pants leg up, wondering himself why it didn't hurt like it had before. It was stiff, but that was about it.

Seconds later, incredulous stares were on his leg as they looked, only to see a small scar where he thought the wound had been.

"Eh… heh…" was the only thing that escaped from Harry's lips.

All four adults stared at Harry, all wondering what the blood had come from if he was not injured.

"The young girl isn't hurt," Molly said as she cleared her throat.

"Are you positive?" Arthur asked slowly, his eyes trailing over to Carey.

"Positive," Poppy spoke for her. "She has no injuries."

Harry shook his head, prying his eyes away from his own leg. He had a small feeling that it all had something to do with his newly acquainted body - the one of an angel.

"If that's the case," Dumbledore interrupted, efficiently stopping any and all pondering over Harry's leg. "why, Harry, did you bring Miss Potter here, to the Weasley's home?"

He had no alibi for that. He stared at the floor for a mere second before shaking his head, words coming slowly to his mouth.

"After… the Dursley's," he didn't look at Dumbledore, but the man tensed a bit at the name of their relatives. "told me to take Carey because they weren't going to house two 'freaks', I headed out for someplace… I had no idea where I was going, but I jumped on a bus and let it take us as far as possible - which was just about outside of here, I guess."

He looked up at the ceiling. "We were attacked by something once the bus had left - I don't know what it was. I thought it might have been a hunter, thinking us to maybe be a deer. We ran for it, and I thought I was injured, but maybe I had just sprung my ankle. It was too cold to leave Carey outside for the rest of the morning, so I carried her here - the only place I could find."

There was a bit of silence for a moment, before anyone said anything.

"So you were just outside of Otter St. Catchpole?" Arthur asked. Harry nodded slowly and the woman beside the older man screeched.

"There's someone outside of _our_ house, shooting innocent children!"

Harry twitched slightly. "Not exactly outside of your house, Mrs. Weasley. Just a few miles outside of town."

"Miles? You walked miles in the cold this morning just to find a place to stay? How did you survive?" The school's nurse questioned incredulously. "It's nearly zero below out there and you were walking for miles?"

Harry nodded slowly, eyeing the woman warily. Things were getting way too complicated for his liking.

"I really don't want to talk about it," Harry said, his voice stiff with annoyance.

The others heard it in his voice, and dropped it… for the moment. The next to speak up was Dumbledore, who smiled serenely at the others.

"I believe we should take this conversation and situation to somewhere more appropriate. How about we go to Hogwarts? I believe it would be best for Miss. Potter here, to rest in the hospital wing for a while."

The other adults nodded, and Harry felt his blood heat up with adrenaline. The closer he was to Hogwarts, the closer he would be to the rat that betrayed his parents and Sirius.

"What's Hogwarts?" he intoned for show, hoping to keep his act in check.

"It's a school for young witches and wizards," Dumbledore told him. "Now lets go - I think it would be best to Portkey to Hogsmeade and walk the rest of the way. Now, Harry, don't be alarmed by what we will be doing in a moment - it's nothing harmful."

Harry nearly rolled his eyes at how they were treating him, but something in the Headmasters voice sounded false. Harry had a feeling that he might know that there was something more unnatural going on.

Hopefully he wouldn't question it.

**xScenexxenecSx .o.o.o.o.o. xScenexxenecSxxScenexxenecSx .o.o.o.o.o. xScenexxenecSx**

A/N: Yeah, I've had this part written for a while, but I couldn't figure out how to end it. So I've just ended the chapter, albeit a bit… er… lets just say it's crappy. It doesn't really match the rest of the story, because it doesn't indicate Harry's 'difference' but it was neccesary to get things rolling. Flames are welcome.

Min


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the Harry Potter books and/or movies is not mine.

**--Chapter Break--**

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Anyways. A note: I've let someone read this chapter before anyone else, and they asked if I'm implying any Incest or… well, whatever you'd call this - and NO, I'm not. Harry does not fall in love with Carey, or vise versa. They see each other as brother and sister, and that is ALL. If you're confused by this rant, just wait until you read the chapter, then maybe you'll understand why I'm saying this. Anyways. On With the story!

**--Chapter Break--**

Pretend World  
By: xScenex

Chapter Five

**--Chapter Break--**

Upon arriving at Hogsmeade via Portkey, he stumbled and, surprise-surprise, fell to the cold ground after losing balance. He groaned slightly, having fallen enough times that night for his own liking.

The others landed on their feet, much to Harry's annoyance. He stood up before anyone could offer a hand and brushed the snow off his pants. He looked around and felt a small twitch in his shoulders. They felt tense, as if the wings that he knew were there wanted to be exposed. He, himself, tensed his back, hoping that nothing would happen in front of the others.

He noted that Arthur was levitating Carey now on a white stretcher and a dull light was creeping up on them. The morning light was finally chasing away the shadows.

Albus motioned for him to move forward on the snow covered cobblestone road, and he obliged to please the man. He really didn't feel like walking to Hogwarts - he didn't even want to go there. That's where some of the last events had taken place - the beginning of one of the last battles. He didn't want to see the grounds that had last proved to be a graveyard for his best friends.

But sadly, the others kept up a quick pace and he also knew it was the only place that he'd find Pettigrew at. As they came to the gates of Hogwarts, Harry stopped. He didn't want to look past them. He tried to look anywhere but at the vast, snow covered ground before him.

Poppy noticed him stopping. "There's no time to stop - you should stay with us. You'll catch cold if you deter anymore."

Harry nodded his head reluctantly and closed his eyes seconds later. He timidly took a few steps forward blindly, hoping he wouldn't trip on anything.

"Is something wrong?" the nurse asked.

He shook his head, but he knew the tight, undefined look on his face gave him away. He sighed heavily and opened his eyes to the vast expanse of white known as the Hogwarts Grounds.

Within seconds that his green eyes skimmed the surrounding area, flashes of memory surfaced into his mind, clouding his eyesight with red. Screams echoed in his mind as his closest friends fell, battered and bruised to the ground. The blood splattered the ground and the voices cried out…

_Harry…_

_Harry! Harry!_

The stench, the smoke, and the death around. He felt dread and fear. And those emotionless, dull eyes of his friends as he found them afterwards, one by one… the grief…

_Harry!_

He shook his head violently, only to realize he on his knees in the snow. He turned his head to the right where the voice was calling, half expecting to see the bloodied body of Seamus begging for his help. But it was only Molly Weasley.

He let out a small, shaky laugh and her face became more concerned. "That was unexpected," he muttered.

"I think we should levitate him, too. He doesn't seem to be in a state of reality," Poppy pronounced sternly.

"No, no, I'm fine," Harry grumbled, feeling stupid for over-reacting. He stood up again, this time not even bothering to brush the snow off. It felt good against his fevered skin.

"No, you're not fine. I think you should go to the hospital wing and get checked over properly - I've obviously missed something if you're going around having spasms. And you look like you need sleep."

Closing his eyes to calm himself a bit, Harry shook his head. "I'm fine, really. I just had a bad shock for a moment. I'll be okay, I promise."

The others didn't look convinced. He smiled slightly and gestured with his arms around him, showing them he wouldn't 'spasm' again. "So which way is it?"

"This way," Dumbledore intoned, his eyes sparkling slightly. The nurse was miffed, and the Weasley's looked quite unconvinced still.

Harry tried to pretend he didn't know anything about the castle, and listened as Molly told him about the Great Hall to keep his mind from wandering. He was grateful for it, since he didn't want to have another flashback anytime soon.

Oddly enough, though, when they did pass the Great Hall, there seemed to be quite a lot of noise coming from it.

"Isn't it Christmas?" Harry asked aloud.

"Yes, dear, it is."

He looked at Molly and smiled slightly, "Shouldn't the students here go home to see their pa…"

He stopped, realizing why so many people were there. If it was Carey's fourth year, then… the Yule Ball… that meant that the Triwizard Tournament was taking place.

"Bollocks," he whispered so quietly that no one else could hear him.

"You're looking pale again," accused the nurse as they turned down a corridor that led to the hospital wing.

Harry turned his eyes on her and she looked away, unable to hold his gaze. Harry felt slightly triumphant as she dropped the issue.

After a few silent minutes, the group of adults and children entered the white walls of the hospital wing. Harry felt his heart fall, knowing what the white walls meant.

He automatically walked towards the bed he usually laid in and plopped down on it, his black hair fanning out onto the white pillowcase. "Bring on the potions," he mumbled halfheartedly.

"I've never seen someone so eager to take any potions from me," Poppy said irritably.

"Me neither," Harry mumbled with amusement. "I must have gone insane."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Molly, Arthur, I would like to speak to you in my office. Let's leave Poppy to exam the children for now."

The Weasley's nodded and Arthur levitated the girl onto a bed next to Harry's.

As soon as they left, Harry sat up and kicked his shoes off. He watched as the nurse walked away to go find some potions. He wasn't sure what he would be doing now that he was at Hogwarts - should he automatically make a grab for Scabbers? That would seem too obvious if he waltzed into the boy's dormitory, grabbed the rat and said, 'Hey, this is really a murderer!'

Pfft. Harry shook his head slowly, wondering who on earth would believe him. Even trying to find a way to expose Pettigrew would be tricky - he didn't want to blow his cover. Closing his eyes from the world, he pondered.

He didn't pay much attention as the nurse walked to and fro, handing him things varying from Pepperup Potions to thermometers. He took everything without complaint, still lost in thoughts.

Eventually, she left him to rest while she bustled over to where Carey lay, still asleep.

He took a glance at the girl, worried for a slight moment if she would be okay. She hadn't woken up through any of the commotion, and she did look pale. But he'd leave Madam Pomfrey to take care of her - she knew more about injuries than he did, obviously.

Harry sighed quietly and turned onto his side. His shoulders ached and he felt cold in the hospital wing. He suppressed a shiver and closed his eyes, realizing in those few moments just how exhausted he felt.

He wondered lazily before the darkness of sleep claimed him, if angel's were supposed to sleep.

"I guess they do," he muttered.

**--Chapter Break--**

He wasn't sure how long he slept but when he finally came to, Harry realized it was beginning to darken outside. At first glance, he had trouble remembering where he was and why he was there until he saw a figure sitting up in bed, looking out towards one of the windows where large, white flakes of snow was cascading down from the sky.

"You're finally awake," Harry said pleasantly through a yawn.

Carey's head snapped to him and she smiled slightly at him. "Yeah."

"How are you feeling? You were out for a while."

"I'm fine," she answered. "How about you?"

"I've never felt better," he responded. It was actually true - he felt refreshed. "I guess that's a benefit for being what I am."

She shook her head in amusement. "I can't believe I'm back here again."

"Where? Here? In Hogwarts?"

Carey nodded. He frowned slightly, "Is there something wrong with the place? I usually stayed during my holiday's."

"Well," she mumbled halfheartedly, but Harry couldn't help but notice the pain in her voice. "I'm not exactly what you'd call popular here."

"Neither was I. If tonight's the Yule Ball, why didn't you stay? You're old enough to go."

Her face turned a bright red, indicating she didn't want to talk about it. Harry guessed that she hadn't been asked to go with anyone, and he felt a bit saddened for her. He never really understood girls much, but he knew from experience that most girls enjoyed dances.

"Well," Harry said as he shifted off the bed and slipped his shoes on. "I'm bored and there's no way in hell that I'm staying in this hospital wing tonight. I think I'd enjoy going to a dance, even if it's just to bother the locals."

"You'll get in trouble," Carey pointed out, her eyes wide in horror at the thought of leaving without permission. Harry just snorted in amusement.

"Do you really care? I've left the hospital wing numerous times without permission. Dumbledore wont care - he wants everyone to have fun."

She bit her lip slightly. "There's no reason for me to go. Besides, I don't have dress robes."

Harry looked at her for a moment, contemplating the situation. He didn't want to sit in the hospital wing all night, and the ball gave him opportunity to find out how things were happening in that world. Either way, he was going, whether or not Carey went but he would prefer if she did. Then an idea clicked.

"Time to work some magic," he said flamboyantly, a grin spreading across his face.

Without another word, Harry swiftly turned around. He looked at his surroundings for a second before realizing again that he didn't have a wand. Huffing in annoyance, he waved his hand in a sweeping motion in front of him.

His clothing slowly changed, turning into dark black dress robes with silver stitching elegantly placed along the cuffs and collar. His hair wound itself magically into a loose ponytail that hung down his back with a few wisps of hair hanging in his face.

Matching shoes adorned his feet, and he stared expectantly at Carey.

"Your turn."

"No," she squeaked. "I can't go! I can't even dance!"

"That's alright, you don't have to know how to. I'll lead," he smiled and walked over to her bed.

Before she had a change to dart away, he reached out and pulled her up and onto the marble floor.

Without much word, he quickly changed her hospital gown into a bottle green dress robe much like his had been, except they were made for a young woman.

She gaped at him, feeling insecure in the newly adorned clothing.

"How would you like your hair?" he questioned without hesitation.

She shook her head in horror. "I don't want my hair put up."

He laughed lightly and with a wave of his hand, her hair became untangled, clean, and to his amusement, even wilder than his ever was.

"I think it looks nice," he told her with a wide grin. She gave him a horrified glance before darting into the bathroom that was located at the other side of the hospital wing.

Harry waited for a while until he became too impatient to wait any longer. He marched to the bathroom and, pushing open the door that was slightly cracked open, he said, "Do you not like it?"

Carey stood in front of the mirror, staring unsurely at herself before turning her gaze onto Harry.

"Why?"

"So we can have fun," he told her, unsure if he'd done something wrong. "Do you not like what I did? I can change it."

She shook her head, "I think it's wonderful, but why are you taking me? Doesn't it seem a bit odd?"

Harry laughed outright. "Carey, it's not like that. Loads of people I knew danced with family members. I'm doing this so that you can go and have fun. Plus," he hesitated for a second, "I'd like to see how people are in this world compared to mine."

Carey didn't say anything for a second. Eventually, she huffed, "Well, I'll go so that you can find out things, but remember - I'd never go to a dance otherwise!"

"I'll take your word on it," he responded smoothly before pulling her out of the bathroom. "You look beautiful, dear sister," he mocked lightly.

She blushed brightly and Harry purposely bumped into her. "You're embarrassed easily. That can come as an advantage for me."

She shot him a horrified glance again, but it soon turned sour. "If you ever do anything to embarrass me, you'll find yourself…"

The boy was slightly surprised to hear the curse words coming from her mouth, but it amused him to no end.

He watched her scrunch up her face in a familiar look of exasperation - he'd seen it so many times in the mirror himself as a child.

The walk was now in silence, but a comfortable one. Harry looked kept his ears open for anyone or anything in the halls - he was too used to being on alert mode. Eventually, the two of them neared the doors that would lead them into the Great Hall where they could hear a loud chatter from the students inside, mingled with the music from the Weird Sisters.

"Shall we?" Harry asked in an overly dramatic voice as he entwined his arm to hers.

She nodded hesitantly and Harry remembered how he was nervous at the time of the dance. But he had also been put on the spotlight…

He didn't really want to think about it, so he pushed one of the doors opened and led them into the lightly lit room and into the crowd.

**--Chapter End--**

A/N: Short, yes. But, I thought that a quick update would be nice. I'm trying to update a lot of my stories right now to make up for the absence of chapters before, so maybe if I have the time, I'll get another one out in a few days. Cheers!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the Harry Potter books and/or movies is not mine.

**--Chapter Break--**

A/N: Ta-da! New chapter! I told you I wouldn't make you wait _too_ long. D: Although, you're lucky because I was getting really distracted while trying to write this. I think I told quite a few of you guys this.

Anyways, thanks for the wonderful reviews, everyone!

**--Chapter Break--**

Pretend World  
By: xScenex

Chapter Six

**--Chapter Break--**

The laughter and chatter that greeted his ears was one at a boisterously loud level, but the cheery atmosphere immediately caught up on him. He smiled broadly, giving Carey - who clung onto his arm with a horrified expression on her face - another push.

"Smile for the camera," he whispered just as they officially stepped onto the dance floor.

Right on cue, numerous pairs of eyes swiveled to them as they interrupted the pace of movement; the eyes lingered, curious to who the newcomers were.

Harry didn't break a step as he spun Carey into dancing position and took one hand in his while guiding the other onto his shoulder. Shortly afterwards, his other hand firmly pressed against her waist, pushing her into the movement of the dance.

Her facial expression never changed once. This amused Harry and he grinned, taking a step to the left and spinning her one-hundred and eighty degrees in a counterclockwise motion.

"I told you that you wouldn't have to worry about dancing," he laughed lightly. He was surprised to find himself in such a good mood, but he blamed it on the amusement of torturing his 'little sister' into something she seemed mortally afraid of that wasn't Voldemort. He'd never had the chance to do anything like it in his life, and it was a whole new experience; one he wouldn't be left out of if the chance was given.

Carey closed her eyes in an almost pained expression, "Everyone's staring."

"Of course," the grin was evident in his voice. His own eyes flickered from face to familiar face, and although a huge sadness filled his heart, he couldn't help but smile at each individual who caught his eye. This was his reunion with the damned.

A few seconds passed as he examined the other students, and he realized that he was completely older than his old House mates and friends. The thought of seeing his friends left a desperate hope inside of him and he scanned the crowd with eagerness.

And through the haze of fabric and sparkly jewelry, he caught sight of two dancing partners who seemed to be having the time of their life.

It was Hermione, with her foreign date, Viktor Krum.

Harry felt himself smile before he turned his attention back to Carey, who seemed to be looking anywhere but him. Her face was flushed red and Harry couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.

As the song slowed to an end, Harry let go of her, calmly and smoothly as to not jolt her into any surprise. She already looked dazed and a bit disoriented.

"I think it's time to head for the punch bowl," he told her, mock concerned. "You look like you might have dehydrated during the song."

She glared murderously at him but it was in vain, as the look sent Harry into a frenzy of chuckles. He realized then just how young she really was - and it boggled his mind to think that he was almost like her a few years back.

"Good Lord, I think I've just had a flash back," he laughed while taking the girls hand and guiding her to where he spotted a crystal clear bowl with red liquid in it. "You remind me so much of me."

She coughed, as if reminding him of something. "Well, technically…"

He shot her a look of amusement. "You even have my smart attitude."

She made an exasperated noise as they reached the punch bowl, where she immediately reached for a glass and filled it up. Harry took that time to take a good look at his surroundings.

He noted that he wasn't sure if things were exactly the same in his world, because he remembered quiet clearly that he had sat and sulked over a lost date. So he took in what he could, preserving the delicate and ornate decorations and the flow in which the crowd seemed to move, although there were a few upturns in the wave as a couple would whisk by in either quick dance, or in a hurry to get off the floor.

Two pairs he saw causing distraught at the further end of the floor were none other than the Weasley Twin's and their dates. That was something to be expected.

He grinned as a seventh year couple huffed in annoyance as Fred and Angelina waltzed by in hysterical laughter. Harry nearly forgot about how much fun the twins were.

"What are you so happy about?" Carey interrupted his musing as she took a sip of the punch. "I don't see anything so amusing."

"Well," he pointed out in false accusation, "you're still alive. I, on the other hand, never thought I'd see my friends and class-mates again after those last _devastating_ moments of my old life. It's nice to see some old faces in the crowd."

She looked mortified but Harry pushed her away from those feelings. "It's fine, I'm only joking. Well, partially anyway."

There was a small stretch of silence as a random student stumbled over to the table to grab a cup of punch before, without a glance at Harry or his counter-part, they walked right away.

Carey didn't miss a second after he was out of range of hearing, "Harry, who were you friends with before? What house were you in?"

He leaned casually against the table before answering, "My two best friends since my first year was Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. I was in Gryffindor House."

The look on her face after he said that concerned him. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head and looked away into the pulsing crowd. "Nothing."

"I learned long ago that when a girl says there's nothing wrong that they're lying. Especially when they wont look at you," he teased lightly.

She didn't smile or even say anything in ascent. He sighed, "I think we should sit down and talk then."

Without an answer from her, he walked away towards where the tables had been pushed back to allow space for the dance floor. Eyes still followed him as he passed by but he had learned to block that kind of thing out. He took up the first available seat, although a few sixth year girls stood mere yards away, eyeing him like he was candy.

That made him uncomfortable. Carey took her time to get to him, but luckily, the girls hadn't made a move to talk to him. When she sat down in the seat across from him and he smiled pleasantly - and noticeably - at her, they shared a sulky glance and moved a bit further away.

"What are we talking about again?" she asked sullenly.

"Carey," he said, his mind focusing back onto the real deal. "Back there, why did you get so quiet when I told you who my friends were?"

"It just doesn't seem right," she whispered quietly. Harry was confused until she said the next part in an almost distressed voice, "I never had any friends. And you were put into a good House - I was shoved into Hufflepuff, of all places!"

He nearly gaped. She was in Hufflepuff? But… that didn't make any sense.

"You're a Hufflepuff?" He queried, much to her annoyance.

"Yeah, I am. You can make fun of me now." Her reply was sarcastic and full of envy.

He was baffled, "But there's nothing wrong with that House! I'm just shocked - I thought we were supposed to be just like one another."

"Well, obviously we're not so much alike as you thought," she snapped and Harry saw that there were unshed tears in her eyes.

He contemplated the situation, and came to the conclusion that the fact that she had no friends ran a deep hurt through her heart. He remembered just how it was with him before he'd gone to Hogwarts. He decided that she wasn't actually mad at him, as he was afraid of.

Not quite sure of what to do in a situation like the one at hand, but willing to try and help, he reached out and clasped Carey's small hands in his. "Carey, it's good to have differences. If we were exactly alike, that could cause some problems. Don't be ashamed that you're in Hufflepuff - some great Wizards and Witches come from that House. And if you think," he stated before taking a deep breath. "Hufflepuff is the House for loyalty. Nothing gives you more respect than that."

The girl looked away from his bright, energetic eyes. Harry hated that, but he wasn't going to force her to stare at him. She sniffed slightly before pulling her hands away from his.

"It's just so odd. If I had been put into Gryffindor, would I have had the same friends as you?"

"Well." That was a head-scratcher. "I can't say that they would have been - there were certain circumstances that led me to meeting Ron and Hermione."

"Like what?" she asked quietly. He couldn't discern the emotions in her tone.

"Well," he said, casually flicking hair out of his eyes. He wasn't really comfortable saying what he was in his world, but he'd have to tell her eventually. "Those circumstances involved me being the savior of the wizarding world and a popular icon to follow around for those who wanted fame."

Her reaction wasn't as bad as he thought… okay, maybe that's an exaggeration. She stood up so quickly that her chair tipped over and clattered noisily to the floor. Her dress robes billowed about as she stepped backwards from him, surprise etched all over her face.

"Y-You were… you're… My god… It's there, too," she whispered, pointing at his forehead.

Despite his want to remain calm, he felt a small flush of annoyance creeping onto his cheeks. Some of the nearby occupants of the ball had stopped to stare at them and Harry idly wondered what they were thinking.

"Yes, I have the scar - please don't point. I had enough of that growing up."

"But that means… this isn't making sense!" she ground out and stepped the rest of the way towards the table before she lent over the tabletop to examine Harry better.

"Of course not, this is life," he grinned at her halfheartedly.

"So you're just like Malfoy… aren't you?" she whispered.

Taken aback by disgust and revulsion, he snapped, "No, I'm nothing like that damn Slytherin!"

"Slytherin?" the girl gaped in horror. "He's in Slytherin?"

"You mean he's not?"

"Of course not! He'd be killed there!"

Silence. "What house is he in?" was the feeble question from Harry.

"He's in Ravenclaw," she said in confusion. "How is it that he turned into a Slytherin? He's nothing like them…"

Harry shook his head slowly, "Mine was."

"Wow…" The girl said in revulsion. "That's hard to picture…"

"It's hard for me to picture him in any other house but Slytherin," was Harry's retort. He was completely surprised to find that Malfoy wasn't in his old House… but what Carey said did make sense. He'd be mauled alive in that House if he really was The-Boy-Who-Lived.

"There's a few things I'm definitely going to have to look into," he muttered in a light voice. Sighing heavily, his cheerful mood slowly turning into everything but that, he looked around. "We should be having fun - I think this conversation would be best saved for a later…"

Harry lost his train of thought when the crowd parted momentarily and he got a glance of someone he had nearly forgotten about. Eyes wide in revulsion and horror, Harry stood up quicker than thought possible.

"Harry?" he vaguely heard Carey call out to him, but his eyes were trained on the person on the other side of the room.

None other than the image of Mad-Eye Moody reflected ease as the figure sat on one of the benches, tapping a foot to the tune of the music. But Harry knew by instinct and by experience that that wasn't the real Moody.

"Shit, I forgot about him," he mumbled. He shot a glance at Carey. "Hey, I have to go check something out. I'll be back in a few minutes."

The girl gave him an frustrated look. "So you're just going to leave me here like this? I didn't even want to come to this ball!"

Harry thought for a second before he took her hand and led her into the dance floor again. Before she could protest, he sought out someone - anyone. And his target just so happened to be passing by.

He reached out a tapped on the shoulder of a red-headed boy who turned around in what he supposed was supposed to be a casual manner, but his face faltered from nonchalant to surprised.

"Excuse me," Harry breathed out, trying to keep emotion out of his voice as he spoke to Fred Weasley. "Would you mind dancing with her for a moment? See, I have to go attend something, but I don't want to leave her on her own, and she's too shy to ask someone to dance herself."

Fred looked Carey up and down before he grinned, "Alright," he said airily. "I'll dance with her."

Harry sent him a grin before turning to Carey and winking, "Behave yourself."

Her face, he noticed as he slipped off into the mob of students, was a bright red that could rival her dance partners hair.

But, as amused as he felt, he couldn't help but feel a deep dread in his bones. Call it instinct, but he had a gut feeling. A Crouch just wasn't someone on the good side of things, especially one who was a Death Eater.

He pushed his way through the crowd, trying his best not to disturb anyone as a quick tune picked up. The only problem he had now was finding a direct way towards where the man sat, but suddenly, his mind flicked to a problem at hand.

What would he do once he got to the man? His instincts told him to expose him for what he was worth, but once again, that would draw up too many questions on his behalf. He'd be too obvious.

But he couldn't let Crouch Jr. sit there, tricking everyone with the Moody image.

Groaning in frustration, Harry turned around. He just couldn't do anything yet. He'd have to wait for the opportune moment.

He stepped off the dance floor to the left and turned back the way he came, fuming to himself. He vaguely caught the eye of the Headmaster in the distance, but it was evident that the man didn't mind him being there, as he just smiled and if Harry new better, his eyes were now a blender of sparkles. Stupid old man, he mused to himself halfheartedly.

He walked along the line of tables, keeping his mind off of the horrors that hid in the castle, disguised and even fooling Dumbledore. He would find a way to expose him before the last task if it was the last thing he did.

As he walked, he noticed a small group of people sitting at a table near the far end, away from the dancing. Two girls, two boys; each sulking respectively in their own seats. This caused he to stop suddenly as his eyes met their faces.

Ron Weasley, Padma Patil, Parvati Patil, and… Draco Malfoy, of all people, sat there together. Harry never thought he'd see anything so… well, odd. Ron and Malfoy? _Sitting_ together? But if he was the savior, then maybe it was possible?

Nonetheless, the idea completely threw Harry off balance. He gaped for a few seconds before Padma caught his eye. She looked over at Ron, he was sulking and looking angrily at someone - Harry could only guess it to be Hermione in the distance, or Krum. When Ron didn't pay any mind to her, she looked eagerly to Harry.

Sighing heavily, he looked around himself just to make sure he hadn't overlooked someone over his shoulder. He saw no one - not that he knew he would - and turned back to the table.

He didn't really feel like talking to the girls, but he was eager to say hi to Ron. It was just so odd seeing his friend so… well, young. The last time he had talked to the boy was right before he left with the order to the last battle… right before he had found himself in Carey's world.

He smiled slightly, and hesitantly made his way over to the table. Only the girls saw him coming up to the table, but they made faces of pout when he actually sat down in a backwards chair.

Folding his arms over the back of it and resting his chin on his arms, he smiled pleasantly at them. "Hello ladies."

"Hello," they said in exact voices, each showing distress at being ignored.

He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "And how are you two doing this evening?"

Without answering, they both glanced at the redhead and the blonde beside them. Harry smiled. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you just up and danced with someone else. There seems to be a few lonely Durmstrang boy's over that way," he pointed out to them.

Padma turned to look at Ron, who's face was darkened with shadows of anger. She huffed, "Are you going to ask me to dance or not?"

"No," came an automatic reply. Harry suppressed the urge to laugh at how serious he sounded.

"Fine. Parvati?"

The other looked up and nodded in agreement to the unspoken words, "Let's go."

They stared at Harry for a second but when he gave no indication of leaving with them, they sulked off to the crowd.

There was a minute of silence while Harry studied the two boys. Ron looked the same as he always had, besides the young factor. The same hair, freckles, and gangly height.

Malfoy on the other hand was different. He no longer held a smirk of indifference on his face, but looked serious. His hair wasn't even gelled back, Harry scoffed. Instead, it fell down over his face in blonde wisps. Just that itself made a dramatic change.

Under the scrutiny he must have felt, Malfoy turned his gaze onto Harry. Their eyes met, and as unnerving as it must have been, he defiantly held his gaze.

"Hi there," Harry eventually spoke, breaking the intense silence between them. "I'm Harry."

The look on the other boys face was undefined, but he nodded his head slowly, "Draco."

Harry tried to give him a friendly grin, but he knew it was in vain. He was still overly cautious around the boy. "Looks like you two are having loads of fun over here," he said lightly, jerking his head towards Ron. "So I thought I'd come and join the mini party."

Malfoy looked utterly annoyed. He looked Harry over, scrutinizing him. He hardly noticed when Ron turned his focus onto him.

"Who are you?" he asked in slight surprise, having missed most of the introduction.

"Harry," he replied smoothly. "And you?"

He looked almost distrustful, "Ron Weasley."

Harry nodded and smiled again, lowering his gaze to the floor. "Some ball, huh?"

"Yeah," came their replies in unison. Harry laughed lightly and cracked an eye open. They were once again staring sullenly away from one another. But Ron was still talking. "I've never seen you around. Are you one of those Durmstrang's?"

"No," He grinned while sitting up once more. He adjusted the collar to his dress robes. "I just decided to join the fun."

"You're not from Hogwarts though. We would have seen you," Malfoy interrupted. Harry looked to him with a hard look and the other boy quickly looked away.

"Of course you haven't seen me," he stated slowly. "You see, I just got here. A bit of a coincidence, really, but my sister is schooled here and I decided to join her because the lack of my own magical education."

"Your sister?" Ron questioned curiously.

"Carey Potter," Harry said airily.

Both gave him an odd look, "I can kind of see it. You two have the same eyes," Ron stated in surprise. "But she's nothing like you otherwise."

To Harry's immense amusement, Malfoy hit Ron upside the head. If he'd ever done anything like that in his world, Malfoy would be hexed meat. Ron gaped in surprise. "What was that for?"

The other boy cracked a _smile_, and shook his head. Now Harry had seen everything. He must have had an odd look on his face because Malfoy asked him what was wrong with him.

"Nothing," he nearly laughed. His eyes danced with the mirth, but he contained himself. "I'm just amused by how you act. Since I've been in a muggle orphanage, as the adults keep calling, and I haven't really been around many wizards. In fact, you're the only ones besides my sister that I've seen and I guess you're just like anyone else." The lie came smoothly, but he hated telling it to his old friend - even if it was a alternate version.

"Well, what else did you expect?" Ron asked ridiculously.

"I thought," Harry said with a broad grin, "That maybe you'd have warts all over your faces, and be standing bent over a cauldron while talking about which child you'd eat next. I thought you'd be sinisterly evil."

He looked horrified. "We don't eat children!"

Malfoy actually laughed. "He's joking, Ron."

Said boy gave him a ludicrous look. "You're bloody crazy."

"Tell me something I haven't already heard," he grinned again. Ron just sputtered in agitation while Malfoy grinned.

Harry vaguely thought of how much of a difference it made when he smiled. He looked much better - not like a stuck up pure-blood. But it was unnerving to an extent, growing up with someone as your enemy and then suddenly seeing them as your best friends best friend.

It was hard to trust such a dramatic change in life, but hey.

Maybe he would get along with the people in that world, even if there was a Malfoy on speaking terms. Although, if his Ron ever saw what was happening, he'd have a heart attack.

**--Chapter End--**

A/N: I didn't want to leave that there, but this is already longer than most of my other updates, and I'm uber tired. I thought about dropping the finish on this and waiting until tomorrow, but I know I promised to give this to you guys by today. D: So yeah. Hope you enjoyed, especially since the ending is a bit off. I had no idea how to end it, so I just gave it a try… maybe I should re-write the chapter. - Min


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the Harry Potter books and/or movies is not mine.**

* * *

A/N: Okay. Who's seen the trailers to the OotP movie? Harry cut his hair and it's so… icky! Does anyone else agree? Or is it just me? 

Anyways. I'm sorry about this very postponed chapter. With holidays, social life, playing Kingdom Hearts, and work, I have had almost no time to update, and I'm trying to scatter my updates throughout my stories so that I'm not stuck with updating one for months, and abandoning the others for a long time. Plus, I have commissions to do and that's taking up tons of time. Oh well. At least I'm trying?

Also, I've been going back and skimming through my stories lately, and I'm disgusted with myself to find that most of my stories have very choppy paragraphs. Or, they sound like it. Maybe it's me just criticizing myself, but it's irritating me. Does it bother anyone else?

On another note, someone sent me a message and asked me about where I'm going in this story. I'm sorry if I never mentioned it before, but this will be a.. uhm, how could you say it - _turn-of-thoughts_ fic. Meaning, Harry will not fight along side Dumbledore (for reasons that will appear soon.) It's not Dark!Harry or anything. It's just the beliefs on the Phoenix's side will be different.

Thanks for all the reviews! If I didn't answer any questions, please just ask again, and I promise that I'll respond this time!

* * *

Pretend World

By: xScenex

Chapter Seven

* * *

Harry wasn't sure how much time was passing. He sat there, at that small table with two people - one being the most unlikely that he'd ever have a conversation with. And he was surprised to find that he was actually enjoying himself. 

The music in the background was in full swing, and there was laughter and chatter all around, echoing from the high ceiling which was enchanted to show the outside sky. It was bright and crisp; full of stars and a crescent moon that grinned down upon the festive.

Harry felt an itching in his bones. He felt adrenaline when he looked up at that fake sky, and was tempted to just go outside. But he was too involved with the conversations going on and he was content to find out more things of that world; he ignored the feelings.

He had been able to squeeze in a few innocent questions about the history of the other world to Draco and Ron, and so far, he'd learned that Draco - who reluctantly told Harry about it - had been the one to kill Voldemort when he was a child.

It appeared that the prophecy had been slightly altered from the original version, and indicated that a child born as the sixth month began would fell the dark lord, and lo and behold, Draco Malfoy had been born near the beginning of that month. Harry had been surprised when the boy hinted about the prophecy. Even he wouldn't outright go and tell someone about it.

It also appeared that when he questioned them further, that they knew about Voldemort not being completely dead. Their hints were very short, but he got the meaning of each and every one of them. They didn't go into detail about the past years as they fought the phantom-like Voldemort, and Harry didn't pursue it. All he needed to know was that Voldemort was still on the go.

"Where do you think he is now?" Harry asked them smoothly. "You know, that Voldemort guy?"

"Well," Ron said, scratching at his head.

"He's somewhere." Draco looked at Harry, his eyes guarded. "But even if he were somewhere near, we couldn't find him easily."

Harry nodded. That was the truth. Even he, himself, hadn't known what those dreams had been about until near the end of the year.

"Well, one day," Harry smiled deviously, his face shadowed. "He will get his. No one like him should survive on this world."

Draco looked at him in surprise but Ron nodded enthusiastically.

"We'll get rid of him one way or another," he said with hatred. Harry noticed the 'we' in the sentence and smiled sadly.

Of course he'd stay by the savior's side, just as he had with Harry. But it was more than fame that made the redhead stay with him; actually, in the end, there wasn't any fame to it. They were just best friends.

The thought of his old friends made his face fall. He was actually starting to wonder what had happened to the rest of them after the last battle. Some had died already - Neville, Fred and George, Seamus, and Ginny. Even Molly and Arthur had died, along with Charlie Weasley.

The names brought back memories, good and bad. Harry choked slightly when he breathed in just as he remembered something that Neville had said to him surfaced in his thoughts.

_'Even if we don't get through this, you will, Harry. You always will, even without us. You're the strong one.'_

It was true. He lived and they didn't. Bile rose up in the back of Harry's throat again and he turned away from Ron and Draco, disgusted with himself.

He didn't need to act pitiful against his mere thoughts. They were all alive and well in that other world - and Harry vowed that he would keep it that way for years to come. He swallowed thickly, ignoring the foul taste in his mouth and he stood up. The others looked at him questionably.

"I have to go find my sister. I left her dancing with someone."

Draco shrugged slightly, and Ron nodded. "Come around again if you're bored," Draco put in.

Harry nodded as well, and then turned around to head back towards the dance floor. There was a mob of students dancing riotously to the upbeat music. They seemed to be having fun, so Harry didn't walk though them and instead took a detour.

He searched the crowd for Carey, but couldn't seem to find her. She could be anywhere now.

Sighing quietly to himself, he stared halfheartedly into the crowd while standing next to an unoccupied punch table. He received a few looks from guys and girls alike as if questioning who he was. He just smiled at each of them and they would soon look away. Harry vaguely wondered if he had something on his face.

He leaned backwards, elbows propped against the edges of the table. He was now bored, and thought that he should have just stayed to talk to Ron and Draco until Carey had come to find him. That would have been more reasonable. He wasn't even sure if she was still dancing.

Then the thought hit him. He'd left her with Fred Weasley of all people. He didn't want to try and pursue the prankster. Merlin only knew where he would go with anyone.

He looked up, and blew a few strands of hair out of his face. The sky was still dark and clear, full of stars. He felt that undeniable urge again - one that made him want to be part of that sky.

He was about to make a go at it and find a place outside to just release that feeling when he heard someone come up from behind him.

He turned his head casually, as if to just take note of the person, but he paused when he realized that it was Victor Krum that had just walked up.

"Nice ball, huh?" Harry asked smoothly, although it was hard to keep some emotion out of his voice. It had been a long time since he'd seen the famous Quidditch player. The last time he had seen him, he was on his way to try and talk a few of his former Durmstrang students to stay on the light side. He never heard from him after that.

"It iz very nice," he said, his English slightly off. Harry smiled. Some things would never change.

"So, are you from one of the other schools?" he asked, making conversation. He couldn't think much of anything else to say.

"Ves," he said. "I am from Durmstrang."

"Is it nice there?"

"Not az nice az it iz 'ere," he said, shaking his head.

"Oh."

There was a small stretch of silence in which neither said anything. In truth, Harry had no idea what to say to him as they both occupied themselves by getting a glass of punch - or, two for Victor. He figured that the second was for Hermione.

Speaking of which, if his memory was correct and the timeline was similar to his in any way or fashion, she should be talking to Ron about then.

He stood on his toes to see over the crowd to see if he could spot the redhead and the blonde sitting anywhere.

It took him a few moments to spot them, and when he did, he wasn't surprised to see Hermione with them. It seemed that her and Ron were arguing heatedly about something - probably about Krum.

"Vell, I better go vind my date," Victor said without much notice to how occupied Harry was.

Harry nodded, "I think she's over there. I'll go with you. I wanted to talk with some people over that way."

He led the way a few feet ahead of Krum, who walked carefully with the two cups of punch in his hands.

Harry smirked. Of course he'd be careful not to spill it all over himself. That's how everyone had been in his world about that time.

The crowd was still thick and it took a bit to get through it but by the time he had dislodged himself from the mass of students, he saw Hermione storm off, her blue dress billowing dramatically behind her as she went in search for her dance partner.

Harry turned casually when he saw Krum resurface and pointed in her direction. He nodded and smiled his thanks before heading off to talk to her again.

He knew that Ron was probably fuming.

And he was right. When he made his way back to the table where the odd duo were sitting, Ron's ears were a very interesting shade of red, and his face was twisted in a grimace.

"I guess something's wrong?" Harry said smoothly, hoping that it would cross over as a joke.

"No, of course not," he responded icily. Harry let it drop, and turned to Draco.

"Don't mind him," Draco whispered dramatically to Harry. The latter just smiled slightly and took another seat next to them. "Guess you couldn't find her?"

Harry shook his head. "I think I left her with someone who looked like him," he said, waving his hand carelessly towards Ron. "You'd think he'd be easy to find with his hair color, but it isn't as simple as one would think."

He was amused when Draco snickered and looked sidelong at Ron, who wasn't paying any attention. "I think you might have left her with one of his brothers. Fred or George - not a good combination. Or, not good with just one, really"  
"Nice to know," Harry said, smiling. He still couldn't believe he could joke around with a Malfoy. "I'm sure she'll be fine, though."

Draco nodded slightly, his blonde hair swaying with the movements. "This is really dragging on," he huffed sullenly.

"At least you were able to come here," he provided, trying to add cheer to the group. "Carey told me that only fourth years and up were allowed to go to this. Just think if you weren't allowed to go - you'd be dying to know what you'd missed."

"I guess so," he said, slightly confused.

Harry leaned against the back of his chair, tilting his head back so that his neck was exposed completely. It felt nice to stretch a bit, so he extended his arms out above his head.

"Much better," he said when he heard his back pop a bit. He didn't expect a response from anyone, but he was surprised when Draco spoke.

"You remind me of a cat."

Harry turned, still half stretched out. "A cat?"

Draco nodded shamelessly. He cocked his head sideways slightly. "You're too comfortable around people you don't know."

"I'm just being myself," he said defensively, sitting back up straight. "There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

The blonde shook his head negatively. "Actually, no. I think it would be best if more people were like that, to be honest."

Harry nodded. "The worlds just too involved with labels and popularity," he smirked. "They seem to get it in their head that fame is the only way to live. I beg to differ."

Draco stared at him for a few seconds and Harry couldn't figure out why for a second. Then it hit him. He probably spoke words that he himself had been thinking.

It was funny, he thought, that he could share the same thoughts with someone completely opposite as him.

He never would have thought it possible to share opinions with Draco Malfoy, of all people, but some things were possible - well, anything, in Harry's point of view. He'd seen almost everything now.

All he needed to see now was Severus Snape dancing the hula. Then he'd see everything.

* * *

A/N: This chapter isn't great. For some reason, I'm having loads of trouble writing. Maybe I'm just too stressed - you know, when you push yourself too hard to do something and eventually, you just can't do it anymore. 

But that doesn't make much sense, since I don't really write much anymore. Either that, or I'm losing my ideas. Someone shoot me! Ah!

Okay. Anyways, that's out of my system. So is anyone still reading this? Does anyone think there is anything I can do to make this any better? Because I'm very unsure of it right now.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the Harry Potter books and/or movies is not mine.**

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A/N: I'm glad that the story is still being read. I love this story myself, and I'd be sad to know it's going downhill. Heh. I'm listening to AFI's newest album, December Underground. I'm in love with Davey's music. For some reason, the song Love Like Winter reminds me of the relationship Draco and Harry have in this story. Maybe I'm just looking into this too much. Gah, I need sleep. But oddly enough, every time I go lay down, I find myself reading a book called Valiant. I'm addicted. 

I need help, I think.

Also, I know in my first chapter, I said that this would be slash. Some people have been curious to know what the pairings will be, but I can definitely say that Harry/Draco will be one of the main. So please just be warned (in case you're not a slash fan) that it will appear soon that there are male/male sexual preferences in the upcoming chapters. I'm not sure if it will appear in this chapter, or in the next, or the one after that, but it can happen at any time.

Also, just out of curiosity, who likes HP/SS slash? A friend of mine requested a story from me involving the two in a relationship and I'm really not sure if I should post it or not, because I don't want to write something and post it and only get criticized for the pairing. (I'm not fond of it, but she's a great real life friend and I owe her one).

Anyways, I'll get on to the story.

**Thanks** emeraud.silver, Kai Minomono, DestinyEntwinements, i'm a misfit, wizli, FreeDaChickens, MorteDolce, The Angel of Your Nightmare, DeAtHsTeNsHi, trill, Sweet-single, Sylkie, Tsurai no Shi, numbah 1 HPFan, and Aurora Selene Potter-Malfoy **for all the wonderful reviews!** (It's been a while since I've done that. Heh.)

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Pretend World

By: xScenex

Chapter Eight

* * *

The ball was eventually coming to an end. Ron had finally cooled off some, and was talking decently to the others, albeit still a bit sullenly. Draco was obviously tiring - Harry noticed the small dark circles lining the undersides of his grey eyes. Harry actually felt a bit of sympathy for the boy - he knew how it felt before when he had had the task's on his shoulders. Sleep was something hard to come by. 

He hadn't seen Carey at all since he'd dropped her off with the older Weasley - Fred, wasn't it? Or had it been George? Sometimes, he couldn't tell. Maybe she'd gone off to her dorm or something.

It kind of disappointed him that she hadn't shown up to at least say goodnight to him, but he couldn't expect her to turn to him all the time. It was just hard for him to adjust to their dependence on other people. It had always been him that everyone turned to when in need in his old world.

Harry was still sitting in the chair, stretched out with a lazy expression on his pallid face. He stared around lazily and had no desire to get up from his warm seat as students left in pairs or in trio's, laughing and giggling about the nights events.

"I guess we should go back to our common room," Draco said, sending an apologetic look in Harry's direction.

He just strugged. "No doubt you have curfew."

Ron grinned broadly and was about to say something but Draco sent an elbow into his side. Ron glared mildly at his friend while gingerly holding his side.

Harry had a slight idea that he might have been able to let slip their ways of adventuring in the middle of the night, but he didn't ask for further explanations. No use in bothering them too much.

"So where will you be staying?" Ron asked suddenly as he stood up, not caring that his hideous dress robes were wrinkled.

Harry had to fight to keep a grin from spreading across his face at the image. "I guess I'll just be staying in the hospital wing. I was there before I came here - I doubt that I was allowed to come, but I did anyways"  
"You mean you snuck out of Madam Pomfrey grasp?" Ron gasped theatrically.

"Yeah, so?" he smirked. He'd always had fun doing that before. Her rants and raves only proved to be amusement for him.

"She'll be mad," Draco grinned as he, too, stood up.

Harry just shook his head slowly, "She didn't exactly order me to stay there. I was free to go."

"You're nearly as crazy as my brothers," Ron muttered, but a smile was on his face.

"I'll take that as a compliment," he retorted before ushering them forward. "You two better get going"  
"Yeah," they said in unison, and the tiredness was evident in their voices.

Harry stood up as well, not really knowing what he would do. He really didn't feel like going back to the hospital wing, but he couldn't just wonder around the castle. Especially when the majority of the castle didn't know who he was.

"Well, see you later," Draco said as they turned around and headed towards the staircase that led to the corridor near Gryffindor Tower.

"See you," Harry replied, waving slightly to them. He turned on heel, now feeling completely unsure of himself.

Ever since he'd gotten there, he'd had Carey or some familiar face around to guide him, but now that he was alone, he was free to do what he wanted - at least until one of the professors caught him.

He smiled. Might as well enjoy his freedom while it lasted.

Harry found his way through the crowd to the opened double doors that led out to the vast lawns of Hogwarts. He marveled at the beauty of the night.

It was cold, crisp, and tranquil. The distant laughter from the ball made it all seem so surreal. And he liked it. He liked the feeling of peace that came to him, even though he knew that the word wasn't completely at ease.

It was those small moments that he wanted to live for - to give other people time to live for.

Harry felt a laugh bubbling up in his chest, but kept quiet. He'd never felt so giddy - not in years, at least. He wasn't sure what it was with him that made him so happy, but he wasn't about to complain.

He looked up at the sky, a smile still on his face. The stars looked so close. So in reach of his hands, that he thought if he reached high enough, he could pluck one right out of the sky.

As if to test his theory, he did so. At the same time that his arm had stretched completely towards the heavens, he shed his dress robes with wandless magic, dissolving them into nothing more but the wind and something shimmery. In place, he wore black slacks and a long sleeved shirt. He felt more comfortable.

Looking around, Harry noted that no one else was around anywhere. It was already late, and it was cold enough to send most students back inside. But Harry liked the feeling on searing wind against his face - it was too natural. Maybe it had something to do with his re-birth into that odd world but the cold just seemed like a 'must-have' for him.

Thinking about it, he felt the desire to spread his wings and fly in the sky. No one was bound to see him, right? He'd been ignoring the feeling all night, and now he wanted to set his spirit free with the night.

Deciding to give it a shot, he closed his eyes with his face still upturned. He yearned for his wings to appear, much like before. He didn't have to wait long before a sudden pain burst from his back, and a loud ripping indicated that his shirt was ruined.

He smiled again. That didn't matter. He didn't care that the ground around him was now flecked with crimson drops of blood and small torn strips of cloth, or that the tips of his wings were now covered with a light sheen of dew drops as they skimmed the grass. All that mattered to him was the fact that he felt invincible with those wings now. He no longer thought it odd - he'd accustomed to the thought of being what he was now.

He flung his wings high up over his head, arching them as if they were birds of prey above himself before swinging them down in a quick movement that sent him speeding upwards into the sky.

It was better than flying a broom, he mused to himself. Much, much better.

* * *

He wasn't aware of the time passing as he enjoyed himself; flying over the treetops of the forbidden forest was exhilarating. He wasn't aware that the moon was slowly moving across the sky as the early hours of the morning crept closer and closer. 

It was still pitch black outside, with the exception of the dulling stars and lowering moon reflecting in the vast lake by the castle, and it provided a great cover for Harry. He wondered what someone would say if they saw him. Would they freak out like that couple had, before him and Carey had found themselves at the Weasley's house?

He just hoped that students didn't have firearms in the school.

Harry landed soundlessly on the railing of a winding staircase that led to the Astronomy Tower. He stood, perfectly balanced and with windswept hair while he stared down at the small hut at the edge of the forest where his old friend lived.

Then something struck him. He'd kept Ron and Draco all night at that table, talking, when they were supposed to be outside overhearing what Hagrid was saying to Madame Maxime.

He crossed his arms over his chest. Could it effect anything that was supposed to happen? Weren't they supposed to find the beetle, which would soon lead to them finding out about Rita Skeeter's secret?

He chewed on his bottom lip, worrying that he'd done something wrong. It wasn't really his fault, right? They'd figure it out eventually, even without that small incident.

But he couldn't help but think that something might go wrong with that.

He hopped down from the railing, going forward so that it appeared that he'd jumped off of the castle. Instead, though, he landed noiselessly on a protruding windowsill in the middle of a chain of dark, curtained windows and stood, wondering vaguely what could happen because of that mishappen.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice when the curtains were slowly pulled back from the window behind him and a pale face appeared, shocked and confused.

He only became aware of the others presence when the window creaked softly as it was opened. Harry jolted slightly and spun halfway off of the sill and had to use his wings to stay upright.

His eyes met the wide, grey ones of a very startled fourth year.

"Shit," he muttered, wide eyed as his vision became obscured as his long black hair lashed out in front of him from the sudden turning motion.

How could he have known he had landed right on a Ravenclaws windowsill? Especially of the one person he'd liked to have avoided.

"Who are you?" came the soft, male voice from inside the darkened room. The voice was all too familiar, and it didn't shock him at the gentleness of it. He'd already learned that night that Draco was nothing like he used to be.

Harry didn't reply - he was too startled to say anything.

As if finding his silence inviting, the pale blonde moved forward and pulled himself up onto the inside window seat.

"What are you?"

Again, Harry couldn't reply. Was Draco really that gullible to just walk right up to a stranger - especially one so phenomenal? But as he looked at the other boy, he noticed that the eyes were dazed and unfocused, as if he were in a dream.

Maybe he thought that he was dreaming. That would definitely work on Harry's side for the better.

"Please," Draco murmured, leaning forward further so that he was nearly outside. He reached forward to Harry, who was just out of reach. "Tell me who you are?"

Harry rose and fell slightly with the movements of his wings, and after a small inspection, was glad to see that he was shrouded in darkness. Draco wouldn't be able to tell who he was.

A long stretch of silence followed, excluding the thumping of Harry's heart in his chest as he feared what would happen now that he had been caught. He was barely aware that Draco was reaching further out towards him, until the boy nearly stumbled forward out of the window.

Harry quickly reached out and grabbed his shoulders to heave him back up, panic filling his mind. He couldn't see another person fall. He'd seen Sirius fall, Dumbledore fall, and he wouldn't see anyone else fall to their death.

"Don't fall," he said quietly, his voice surprisingly smooth. "We couldn't have that." Maybe it was his own shock that kept him calm and rational.

Draco nodded dumbly, his eyes still unfocused. He seemed to be staring into a far away place.

Harry smiled. He needed to go before he caused the younger boy to plunge to his death. And besides that, he couldn't have his identity exposed. With one quick sweep, he pushed himself up and away from the window.

"Wait!"

Harry didn't stop as the cry of disapproval followed behind him. He couldn't wait much longer - he needed to get back inside before the professors wondered where he was. He was bound to already have some questioning.

The early morning wind swept harshly around his face, stinging his already chilled skin. He breathed in deeply and started downwards towards the lake.

When his feet touched the dew covered grass, he sighed. Now that he was on the ground again, exhaustion quickly crept up on him. Maybe he shouldn't stay out so late, flying like that.

Harry hurriedly made his wings disappear before walking out of the dark foliage and onto the vast lawn.

He was completely aware that the professors would be wondering where he had been all night. Thinking along the way, he tried to come up with a good explanation for his absence. Maybe he could tell them that he'd gotten lost. Possibly in the forest?

No one had told him it was off limits.

Smiling, Harry decided that might be best. He couldn't say he'd wandered around the castle all night - the portraits would have reported that, or the ghosts.

He really wouldn't put it past Peeves to shout to the world that some stranger was inside Hogwarts.

* * *

A/N: I can't believe I've updated this fast. I can't really remember the last time I did that. Sad, huh? So what did you guys think of this chapter? 

Gah, I'm tired. I think I'm going to go to sleep. That might be why this chapter doesn't make any sense (or does it?) Eh heh. Soooo sleep deprived. x3 And yes, I know this chapter was short.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the Harry Potter books and/or movies is not mine.**

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A/N: Wow. I really didn't expect so many reviews for that chapter! But I'm glad - I had such a hard day at work before I last updated, that by the time I got home, I just wanted to post the chapter and go to sleep (which I did). I was so surprised when I woke up later and logged on to find that so many people reviewed! It definitely made me feel better. :D

On another note, I'm trying to update as much as I can. Since it's been snowing like mad here, work has been canceled and I've had time to do my commissions and stories. Hopefully I make a lot of progress!

Also, about Carey. I doubt many people will like her, since she's an OC character. I'm trying my best not to make her Mary Sue like, but I think I'm only making her annoying. And that's not good. Every time I write about her, she reminds me horribly of Cho or someone along those lines. I'm trying to stay away from that, constantly re-writing the scenes, so if she really bothers the majority of the readers, I'll try and change her attitude a bit more and mold her into something better.

**Thanks** Wolf-in-Sheep-Clothing, Ash of Mine, numbah 1 HPFan, Cute Lover Gurl, Kail Ceannai, The Angel of Your Nightmare, emeraud.silver, Loki40766, MoonMixer, mechan, Anave Lipad, FreeDaChickens, Laughing Cat, Adriem, crazysquirl, Sylkie, DestinyEntwinements, meinien, aradonai, MorteDolce, RavenXI, Illuminatus, and mynoan **for all the wonderful reviews!**

* * *

Pretend World

By: xScenex

Chapter Nine

* * *

Harry had no run-ins on the way back to the castle and to the hospital wing. It was dead quiet, considering that everyone in the castle had settled down hours ago after the ball.

Harry guessed that it had to be around four in the morning at latest, but he couldn't be too sure since it was still dark outside.

By the time he found his way through the familiar castle to the nurse's station, he was dead tired. He found it odd that someone like him, brought to some strange earth by a phenomenal happening, would need just as much sleep as he needed when he had been completely human.

But he didn't mind. What would he do for the six to nine hours before everyone else woke up? Surely he couldn't wonder around for hours - that would definitely cause suspicion.

He flopped down on the white, crisp sheets on one of the many beds in the hospital room. No one else was there, Harry noted after surveying his surroundings for a second. He guessed that Carey had gone back to her dormitory for the night.

Sighing heavily, Harry rolled over on the bed, not caring that he was still wearing jeans and his shoes. The cool air on his chest was nice, as was the cool fabric against the heated skin.

The comfort was enough to allow him to relax. He closed his eyes slowly and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

When Harry eventually woke up, the sun was high up in the sky, sending rays of feverish light into the blindingly white room.

He had to squint for a few seconds until everything came into focus and he remembered where he was.

He sighed. It felt as if he'd only been asleep for a few minutes, not for hours. And by looking at the clock on the other side of the room, it indicated that lunch was in session.

Harry got up, stretching languidly as his stomach growled loudly, even to him. He could hear people chatting distantly through the halls nearby and wondered if he would be able to go down and eat lunch with Carey without getting in trouble.

As if reading his thoughts from a far distance, Madame Pomfrey walked through a side door on the left and stopped when she saw him.

"Where were you last night, Mr. Potter?" she demanded hotly.

"The Ball," he replied calmly, knowing he was about to be reprehended over his late-night adventures. He looked around to see if there were any spare shirts lying around.

Her hands landed on her hips and she stared icily at him. "The Ball, I can see, but you should have asked for permission to go! You were under no stable condition when you were admitted into my wing -"

Harry shrugged, eventually giving up on finding a shirt after it appeared clearly that there were none in the room besides hospital gowns. "Albus Dumbledore didn't care."

"You are my patient - you aren't allowed to leave without permission, young man! And where were you half the night? Last I saw, you hadn't showed back up past one in the morning!" The nurse continued scolding, ignoring the interruption.

"I was just hanging around, you know?" He smiled at her and shrugged casually, a small smirk appearing on his face at the end. "Making some friends."

She huffed, but she didn't bother him further besides mumbling something about irresponsible boys, and telling him he could go eat lunch after she did a quick checkup.

The nurse seemed rather annoyed when everything came out perfectly fine and grudgingly allowed Harry down to lunch. She transfigured one of the gowns for him, into something suitable, and he quickly put it on and started to leave. He barely caught the look of aggravation on her face as he stepped out of the door with only one more backward glance in which he smiled at her and bid her a nice afternoon before he hurriedly made his way out of the wing; he didn't want her to find some other reason to keep him behind.

He was glad to note that he hadn't had to use the Forbidden Forest excuse yet. Hopefully he didn't have to use it at all.

As he got closer to the Great Hall, he could hear the chatter and laughter from inside. He wasn't too surprised to hear so much noise on the Christmas Holiday - the Yule Ball had been the night before and loads of students stayed behind to attend it.

When he walked through the large arching doors, a few people looked up and stared.

He knew he stood out - how couldn't he? He didn't wear robes like the other students, and his hair was obviously mussed, even to him. Plus, he was a complete stranger.

But he ignored the looks, pointedly doing so. He walked forward, trying to see if he could spot Carey at the Hufflepuff table.

It took him a few moments to do so, but when he did find her at the very end of the table, he was glad to note that she looked fine. He had actually started to worry about her never showing back up the night before.

Carey hadn't noticed his appearance yet, so he quietly made his way towards her. When he walked up behind her, he lent down and whispered in her ear, "Good morning, beautiful."

Her head whipped around quickly, and her face was twisted in surprise. When she realized it was him, her expression quickly turned into annoyance.

"Good morning to you, Harry," she huffed but smiled slightly at him.

Harry noticed the circles under her eyes, and the red that underlined her eyelids. It looked as if she'd been crying. Harry walked around the end of the table and sat down in front of her, feeling concern bubble up in his chest.

He looked around for a mere second, realizing that none of the others sat close to them. That was a good thing. But a few nosy students kept staring and watching them as if they were about to perform a stunt of some kind.

"Carey," he said softly, ignoring the looks again. "Is something wrong?"

The messy haired girl shook her head, not meeting Harry's eyes.

The boy sighed slightly, leaning his elbows on the table and resting his chin in his hands. "Carey, I'm here for you. What do you think a Guardian Angel is for?" he asked, albeit awkwardly at addressing himself as such. It was the first time he actually said that allowed about himself.

She didn't look at him, still, and picked at her salad with her fork. She shrugged and Harry knew that something had to have happened last night.

"Look, Carey," he said quietly. "Although I haven't been around you much, I've seen enough to know that something's happened. Maybe you could call it a gut instinct, but as your… brother, I'd like to help you."

"You wouldn't understand," she said, looking up finally to meet his eyes. Her green eyes glistened with unshed tears, and Harry gulped.

He couldn't handle crying girls that well and was scared of making things worse.

"I'd like to try and understand," he said through the apprehension that was slowly beginning to build up in his chest.

She hesitated before she turned completely towards him, a determined look on her face.

"You left me to dance with that Weasley boy last night, remember?" she asked and Harry nodded. "Well, he brought me to his brother - his twin one - and introduced us."

"You mean George? Or Fred?" Harry asked, unsure of which was which.

"Fred introduced me to George," she told him awkwardly. "At least, I think that's how it went."

Harry smiled. "And?"

"Well, we danced and talked for a while since you never came back to get me," she told him accusingly. Before Harry could retort, though, she had continued. "George and I were just joking around, talking about the ball when those… Slytherin's came up and began teasing me."

Harry's head snapped towards where the Slytherin table was. He could see a few familiar faces, but at his distance, it was a bit hard to tell them apart.

His face darkened slightly and he growled out, "What did they say to you?"

Carey looked away again. "They were just teasing me about being there, and wondering why anyone would dance 'with the likes of me'."

Harry felt solid anger build up in his chest. Leave it to the Slytherin's to piss him off on his first day there. Carey must have noticed the change in his attitude, because she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"It's not big deal Harry," she said.

"If it wasn't a big deal, then you wouldn't be upset," he ground out.

"Harry, really," she said, her voice slightly pleading. He looked up and noticed that her eyes kept darting to the Slytherin table. "It's not big deal. Just let it go, please?"

Harry closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He'd rather not get in trouble his first actual day there, even if he wasn't a student. And especially not about some slimy snakes.

"Fine; but if they ever do anything to you again, I'll give them a piece of my mind."

She nodded weakly, and Harry knew she understood. The look on his face showed that he wasn't kidding.

Harry brushed his messy hair out of his face and picked up a bread roll and bit of the end of it, chewing on it thoughtfully as he stared around.

He noticed that Hermione and Ron sat far away from one another at the Gryffindor table, and that Draco sat next to Ron. He guessed that it was usual for the Ravenclaw to sit at the Lion's table without much more than a glance.

Hermione had a book open in front of her, and she seemed completely absorbed in it. Ron, on the other hand, was talking animatedly to Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnagin at the table, whereas Draco seemed to keep quiet most of the time.

Harry didn't think too long on any of the students behavior before he turned his eyes on the high table where the professors sat. He stared at each in turn, and when his eyes landed on Moody, he felt a growl of anger rise in his throat. How could that imposter sit there with so much dignity?

"What's wrong, Harry?" Carey's concerned voice pierced through his thoughts.

He popped the rest of the roll into his mouth after realizing he'd been holding it. He shook his head, "Just a few things I don't like about here, that's what."

"Like?"

"A few professors," he stated with obviousness while nodding in the direction of the high table.

"Oh. Which ones?"

Harry looked at her and bent forward. "Let's just say there's a few traitors up there," he whispered, glancing towards where Moody sat.

She breathed in sharply, "Harry, you can't be serious. The professors?"

Harry nodded. "Trust me on that."

"But who?"

Harry shook his head quickly. "Not here. Too many people around."

The girl nodded in acceptance and sighed. "So what did you do last night?"

Her tone was curious, and Harry smiled. "I decided to acquaint myself with your worlds Boy-Who-Lived and his friends."

"You spoke with Draco Malfoy?" she asked, surprised. Harry nodded. "Was that smart of you to do?"

The dark haired boy shrugged. "Whether or not it was, what's done is done."

She nodded and they both grew silent as they slowly ate lunch. Harry wondered what they would do that day - he wasn't sure if Dumbledore wanted to talk to him, or if he was just free to roam around the castle until a certain date.

"How about we go for a walk?" Harry asked as he finished off the last of his pumpkin juice. "I would like to get some fresh air."

Carey shot him a smile, "Sure. It's too crowded for me anyway."

They both stood up and began walking their way towards the double doors. They passed the Gryffindor table on their way, and Harry was surprised when a red-head jumped out of his seat and made his way quickly towards the pair of Potters.

"Carey!" he exclaimed. Harry was a bit surprised to see that it was one of the Weasley twins.

"Uhm, hi," Carey greeted, bewilderment etched into her face. Harry almost laughed. Almost.

"Carey, I'm sorry about last night," he said solemnly as he stopped in front of her. He gave Harry a quick look, but seemed more interested in talking to Carey.

"Oh, it's okay," she looked down at her hands, shaking her head sheepishly. "It wasn't your fault that the Slytherin's decided to be arses."

"Yeah, but I could have stopped them. You just disappeared so fast that I was more worried about you. You are okay, though, right?"

Harry watched the exchange with complete amusement. Carey kept blushing and wouldn't look George in the eyes. George seemed persistant to get her to look at him. Overall, they proved to be great amusement to Harry for a while.

But eventually, his gaze wondered off down the table to where Ron sat. He was laughing at something to the point that he was doubled over on the table, nearly banging a fist. Harry's lips twitched at the scene.

He looked over a bit, and noticed that Draco looked tired, still, but thoughtful at the same time. Harry couldn't help but wonder if he remembered anything from the night before, but when the boy turned his head slightly and caught Harry's eye, he just waved and smiled.

Guess not.

Harry breathed in relief. It would have been disastrous if he had remembered - and the awkward questions that would have followed would have been worse. He grimaced at the thought.

Hopefully he'd never have to explain to anyone that he was from another world. If he did, they'd probably lock him up in a padded cell. He nearly grinned at that, thinking of what the headlines would say.

'_Delusional Boy Claiming To Be Boy-Who-Lived Who Can Fly_!'

Yeah right.

* * *

A/N: Urg. I'm not happy with this chapter, but it's getting me along. It's one thirty in the morning, I'm high on caffeine, and I'm freezing my bum off.

Anyways, what did you guys think of Carey in this chapter? Like I said, I'm not too happy with it, but hopefully I can get things straightened out soon.


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